spurious
Lacking genuine basis
Spurious means false or inauthentic—appearing genuine but actually fake or unfounded.
A spurious claim lacks evidence.
A spurious document is a forgery.
Spurious correlations appear meaningful but arise from coincidence rather than real connection.
The word carries a formal, slightly accusatory tone: calling something spurious implies deliberate deception or at least careless error.
Not the real thing
- bogusCounterfeit or fraudulent
- phonyFraudulent person or thing
- shamFraudulent imitation
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
forged · fraudulent · fabricated · falsified · pseudo · imitation · knockoff · ersatz
Not matching reality
- invalidWithout legal force
- unsoundWeak or flawed
- flawedHaving faults or imperfections
- faultyHaving defects or errors
erroneous · mistaken · incorrect · unfounded · baseless · groundless · specious · fallacious
Causing false beliefs
- deceitfulInclined to mislead others
- dishonestInclined to deceive
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
- duplicitousDeliberately deceptive in nature
insincere · untruthful · guileful · cunning · sly · underhanded · treacherous · scheming
Child of unmarried parents
- basebornOf low birth
- misbegottenPoorly conceived or illegitimate
- out-of-wedlockBorn to unmarried parents
- extramaritalOutside the marriage bond
lovechild · unauthorized · unsanctioned · unrecognized · unaccredited · unlicensed · irregular · improper
Minor and unplanned
- accidentalOccurring by chance
- extraneousNot pertinent or essential
- irrelevantNot pertinent
- unrelatedHaving no link
tangential · adventitious · superfluous · immaterial · inapplicable · unconnected · foreign · alien
fake
Not the real thing
counterfeit · forged · fraudulent · fabricated · falsified · pseudo · imitation · knockoff · ersatz · mock
false
Not matching reality
faulty · erroneous · mistaken · incorrect · unfounded · baseless · groundless · specious · fallacious · illogical
misleading
Causing false beliefs
- deceitfulInclined to mislead others
- dishonestInclined to deceive
- disingenuousFeigning ignorance or innocence
duplicitous · insincere · untruthful · guileful · cunning · sly · underhanded · treacherous · scheming · tricky
bastard
Child of unmarried parents
- basebornOf low birth
- misbegottenPoorly conceived or illegitimate
- out-of-wedlockBorn to unmarried parents
extramarital · lovechild · unauthorized · unsanctioned · unrecognized · unaccredited · unlicensed · irregular · improper
incidental
Minor and unplanned
- accidentalOccurring by chance
- extraneousNot pertinent or essential
- irrelevantNot pertinent
unrelated · tangential · adventitious · superfluous · immaterial · inapplicable · unconnected · foreign · alien · non-sequitur
- authenticityauthentic, genuine, real, fake, counterfeit
- fakefake, phony, bogus, sham, counterfeit
- falsifiedfalsified, doctored, fabricated, fake, faked
- SAT vocabularyaesthetic, ambiguous, benevolent, candid, concise
- deceptionslie, lies, lying, deceit, decoy
- statusespending, active, approved, inactive, completed
spuriousgenuine
Truly what it claims
authentic · real · true · legitimate · bona fide
spuriousvalid
Legally or logically sound
sound · legitimate · well-founded · substantiated · warranted
spuriousgenuine
Truly what it claims
spontaneous · sincere · natural · artless · unaffected