apocryphal
Of doubtful authenticity
Apocryphal describes stories or accounts of doubtful authenticity—widely repeated but probably not true.
An apocryphal tale about a famous person sounds plausible enough to survive but lacks verification: The story about Washington and the cherry tree is almost certainly apocryphal.
In religious contexts, the Apocrypha are ancient texts excluded from the accepted biblical canon.
Of uncertain validity
- doubtfulUncertain of truth
- suspectBelieve to be likely
- unreliableNot consistently performing
- unverifiedNot yet proven true
rumored · alleged · unsubstantiated · unconfirmed · uncorroborated · anecdotal · hearsay · uncertain
Invented, not real
- forgedMade by smithing, or faked
- falseNot matching reality
- fakeNot the real thing
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
bogus · fraudulent · sham · fictitious · inauthentic · pseudo · misattributed · ghostwritten
Outside official doctrine
- deuterocanonicalOf secondary biblical authority
- gnosticRelating to mystical insight
- hereticalContrary to accepted doctrine
- excludedShut out, denied entry
suppressed · hidden · esoteric · disputed · ecclesiastical · biblical · testament · gospel
questionable
Of uncertain validity
- doubtfulUncertain of truth
- suspectBelieve to be likely
- unreliableNot consistently performing
unverified · rumored · alleged · unsubstantiated · unconfirmed · uncorroborated · anecdotal · hearsay · uncertain · speculative
fabricated
Invented, not real
counterfeit · bogus · fraudulent · sham · fictitious · inauthentic · pseudo · misattributed · ghostwritten · invented
noncanonical
Outside official doctrine
- deuterocanonicalOf secondary biblical authority
- gnosticRelating to mystical insight
- hereticalContrary to accepted doctrine
excluded · suppressed · hidden · esoteric · disputed · ecclesiastical · biblical · testament · gospel · scripture
legendary
Famous beyond ordinary measure
lore · tale · saga · parable · allegory · storytelling · mythmaker · bard · chronicler · ancient
- JudithJudith, beheading, heroine, widow, deuterocanonical
- fakefake, phony, bogus, sham, counterfeit
- unreal thingsillusion, delusion, fantasy, fiction, imaginary
- authorshipauthorship, author bio, byline, attributed, credited
- creative libertiesartistic license, poetic license, liberties, creative liberties, fictionalization
- Vulgate studiesJerome, critical edition, critical apparatus, variants, recension
apocryphalauthentic
Verified as original
verified · genuine · authenticated · true · factual
apocryphalcanonical
Accepted as standard
authorized · accepted · official · orthodox · sanctioned