spurious

adjective spu·ri·ous \ ˈspyu̇r-ē-əs \

|Updated on: 17 Aug 2018

Examples: spurious in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of spurious

1 : of illegitimate birth : bastard

2 : outwardly similar or corresponding to something without having its genuine qualities : false

the spurious eminence of the pop celebrity

3 a : of falsified or erroneously attributed origin : forged

b : of a deceitful nature or quality

spurious excuses

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spuriously

adverb

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spuriousness

noun

See spurious defined for English-language learners

See spurious defined for kids

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Examples of spurious in a Sentence

One reiterated theme of his book is that the electoral process can be the most dangerous of delusions, tending to confer a spurious legitimacy on those most willing to corrupt it. —Hilary Mantel, New York Review, 21 Sept. 2006
Of all the potentially spurious phrases regularly found lurking on book jackets, none should be approached with greater wariness than "This is his first novel." —Tony Early, New York Times Book Review, 30 Apr. 2000
I have no special interest in defending modern finance theory, but I think it is important to get this straight, lest Soros's own ideas acquire spurious validity as a practical corrective to academic moonshine. —Robert M. Solow, New Republic, 12 Apr. 1999
a spurious Picasso painting that wouldn't have fooled an art expert for a second
claimed that the governor's election-year enthusiasm for conservation was spurious, since he had cut funding for state parks

Recent Examples of spurious from the Web

Plaintiff attorney Steven Donziger’s attempted looting of Chevron for spurious environmental crimes in Ecuador ranks among the biggest legal scams in history.

— the editorial board, WSJ, "Steven Donziger Gets His Due," 13 July 2018
The American people have the right to their opinions, but these spurious attacks on ICE by our political leaders must stop,’’ Pence said.

— ken thomas, BostonGlobe.com, "Pence rips Democrats on immigration, defends ICE," 7 July 2018
Leonid Gavrilov, a longevity researcher at the University of Chicago in Illinois, notes that even small inaccuracies in the Italian longevity records could lead to a spurious conclusion.

— elie dolgin, Scientific American, "There's No Limit to Longevity, Says Study Reviving Human Life Span Debate," 1 July 2018
After some spurious claims about cell phones causing the problem, researchers began identifying factors that did create problems for the health of bees, including infections, insecticides, and agricultural practices.

— diana gitig, Ars Technica, "Glyphosate is safe, but some scientists still question how we regulate it," 5 June 2018
Beijing says much of the South China Sea is its sovereign territory, claims most of the internationally community view as spurious.

— joshua berlinger, CNN, "US sails warships past disputed islands in South China Sea," 27 May 2018
In fact, his only serious opponent, Mr Navalny, was barred from taking part in the election in March, on spurious grounds.

— The Economist, "Fresh challenges for Vladimir Putin in his supposedly final term," 10 May 2018
The opposition to Obama was primarily a racialized hysteria justified on spurious procedural grounds that have since been discarded.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Hasn’t Destroyed Obama’s Legacy. He’s Revealed How Impressive It Was.," 22 Jan. 2018
In other international news, Papua New Guinea threatened to ban Facebook for a month for seemingly spurious reasons, concerning locals who rely on the service.

— brian barrett, WIRED, "Security News This Week: Valve Squashes Decade-Old Steam Security Bug," 2 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'spurious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

The classical Latin adjective spurius started out as a word meaning "illegitimate." In the days of ancient Rome, it was sometimes even used as a first name for illegitimate offspring (apparently with no dire effects). There was a certain Spurius Lucretius, for example, who was made temporary magistrate of Rome. In less tolerant times, 18th-century English writer Horace Walpole noted that Henry VII "came of the spurious stock of John of Gaunt." Today, we still use spurious to mean "illegitimate," but the more common meaning is "false" (a sense introduced to spurious in Late Latin). Originally our "false" sense emphasized improper origin, and it still often does ("a spurious signature"), but it can also simply mean "fake" or "not real."