1
as in counterfeit
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud
a spurious Picasso painting that wouldn't have fooled an art expert for a second
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2
as in false
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality
claimed that the governor's election-year enthusiasm for conservation was spurious, since he had cut funding for state parks
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3
as in illegitimate
born to a father and mother who are not married
the spurious son of Charles II, the Duke of Monmouth would later mount a rebellion in a disastrous attempt to claim the throne
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of spurious
Perhaps Pope Francis should be looking into cleaning his own house before making spurious accusations.
—
Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Nov. 2024
If the liability for misuse of customer data sits with the banks, then customer data breaches by third parties are a huge potential liability, not a spurious concern.
—Ruth Foxe Blader, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
If the marathon is based on a spurious anecdote, the Olympic Games themselves grew out of an important ancient reality.
—Miriam Kamil, JSTOR Daily, 20 Nov. 2024
In Florida, people who provided signatures in support of the state’s ballot measure received visits from state police investigating spurious allegations of fraud, and local television stations were threatened with criminal prosecution for airing an ad in support of the amendment.
—The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spurious 
Letters To The Editor, Orlando Sentinel, 19 Nov. 2024
If the liability for misuse of customer data sits with the banks, then customer data breaches by third parties are a huge potential liability, not a spurious concern.
—Ruth Foxe Blader, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024
If the marathon is based on a spurious anecdote, the Olympic Games themselves grew out of an important ancient reality.
—Miriam Kamil, JSTOR Daily, 20 Nov. 2024
In Florida, people who provided signatures in support of the state’s ballot measure received visits from state police investigating spurious allegations of fraud, and local television stations were threatened with criminal prosecution for airing an ad in support of the amendment.
—The New Yorker, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for spurious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurious
Adjective
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Nashville police arrested an 18-year-old shortly after his arrival on a Greyhound bus when he was discovered to have thousands of counterfeit oxycodone pills in his possession, the department said.Kirsten Fiscus, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
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In 2023, the company spent over $1.2 billion on counterfeit, fraud and abuse prevention.Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 4 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Nashville) Letter:Trump's false claims on pet-eating scared me into hiding my cat.David Plazas, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024
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That followed a pattern seen in CBS News analysis of his posts during the campaign season, when Musk frequently shared false narratives about the election and amplified extreme voices from the right-wing fringe to his millions of followers.CBS News, CBS News, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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On the campaign trail, Trump and his running mate, J. D. Vance, dismissed Biden’s parole program for Venezuelans, Nicaraguans, Haitians, and Cubans, which is responsible for more than half a million people entering the country, as illegitimate.Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2024
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None of which means Hot Seat stories are illegitimate.David Whitley, The Tennessean, 19 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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In 2017, then State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman indicted Newman on 58 counts, following a two-year investigation nicknamed Operation Vandelay Industries, a nod to George Costanza’s fake latex company on Seinfeld.Elizabeth Stamp, Architectural Digest, 25 Dec. 2024
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For Helen, though, her fake life has become so dominant that it’s superseded her identity as a person in her own right.Sophie Gilbert, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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While there are certainly products that can be used across different hair textures, lengths, curl patterns, thicknesses, colors (natural and unnatural), and needs, hair products are often created with specific consumers in mind.Sarah Hoffmann, Allure, 22 Dec. 2024
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The world’s longest election, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, soaring inflation and wealth inequality at home, and a host of other natural and unnatural disasters made 2024 ripe for whiskey content.Paul Feinstein, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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On Tuesday, a Manhattan grand jury indicted Mangione for murder as an act of terrorism, criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a forged instrument.Emma Bowman, NPR, 19 Dec. 2024
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Mangione has also been charged in New York with three counts of criminal possession of a weapon, and a count of criminal possession of a forged instrument.Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The ancient tradition would be to hold sacrificial ceremonies, but today, people hold mock sacrifices to celebrate.Amanda Cappelli, CBS News, 21 Dec. 2024
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The long-sleeve gown featured a mock neck and ruching at the waist.Catherine Santino, People.com, 17 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Zuckerberg and Trump have had a strained relationship in recent years.Andy Biggs, Newsweek, 24 Dec. 2024
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Jansson started 37 games for Leeds but his relationship with Marcelo Bielsa, the head coach at the time, had become strained.Jay Harris, The Athletic, 22 Dec. 2024
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Cite this Entry
“Spurious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurious. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.
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