apocryphal

adjective

apoc·​ry·​phal ə-ˈpä-krə-fəl 

1

: of doubtful authenticity : spurious

an apocryphal story about George Washington

2

often capitalized : of or resembling the Apocrypha

Apocryphal books of the Old Testament

apocryphally

ə-ˈpä-krə-fə-lē 

adverb

apocryphalness noun

Did you know?

In biblical study, Apocrypha refers to books outside an accepted canon of scripture. In modern use, the term refers specifically to a group of ancient Jewish books that are not part of the Hebrew Bible but are considered canonical in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches; Protestant churches follow Jewish tradition in considering these books noncanonical. Both apocrypha and apocryphal come, via Latin, from the Greek word apokrýptein, meaning "to hide (from), keep hidden (from)," which in turn comes from krýptein, "to conceal, hide." Both words entered English in the 16th century with their nonbiblical meanings, apocrypha referring to writings or statements of dubious authenticity, and apocryphal describing such things. Apocryphal is now the more common word. It most often describes an oft-repeated tale that is almost certainly not true.

Choose the Right Synonym for apocryphal

fictitious, fabulous, legendary, mythical, apocryphal mean having the nature of something imagined or invented.

fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

apocryphal implies an unknown or dubious source or origin or may imply that the thing itself is dubious or inaccurate.

a book that repeats many apocryphal stories

Examples of apocryphal in a Sentence

During these men's professional lives, Wall Street has become accustomed to getting what it wants from Washington. America's top bankers have an even longer history of not giving a hoot what the public thinks. Sample (possibly apocryphal) quote from the original J. P. Morgan: " I owe the public nothing." —Daniel Gross, Newsweek, 23 Feb. 2009

True or apocryphal, the story of the invention of the fried Ipswich clam—Mr. Woodman, faced with a huge vat of hot oil for his potato chips and a mess of clams harvested from the mud flats of his home town, reportedly had a eureka moment—is unabashed gospel for lovers of this regional specialty. —Nancy Harmon Jenkins, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2002

There is a story, perhaps apocryphal, about Leonard Bernstein and tax returns. On the line that asked him to list his profession, Bernstein didn't write "conductor" or "composer," or "pianist," or "teacher." He simply wrote, "musician." —Bari Walsh, Bostonia, Winter 2000-2001

an apocryphal story about the president's childhood

Recent Examples on the Web

American sportswriter Frank Deford perpetuated the apocryphal story of Leo Seltzer’s invention of roller derby. —Colleen English, The Conversation, 13 Mar. 2025

There’s an apocryphal story among J.R.R. Tolkien fans that the fantasy author’s villainous portrayals of spiders were inspired by a childhood incident when a tarantula bit him. —Emily McClanathan, Chicago Tribune, 11 Feb. 2025

The apocryphal story has transformed into a popular thought experiment. —Rebecca Charbonneau, Scientific American, 6 Feb. 2025

Also known as Einstein’s puzzle or riddle (likely an apocryphal attribution), the problem tests a certain kind of multistep reasoning. —Anil Ananthaswamy, Quanta Magazine, 31 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

apocrypha + -al entry 1

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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