apocryphal

Synonym Chooser

How is the word apocryphal distinct from other similar adjectives?

Some common synonyms of apocryphal are fabulous, fictitious, legendary, and mythical. While all these words mean "having the nature of something imagined or invented," 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

When is fabulous a more appropriate choice than apocryphal?

In some situations, the words fabulous and apocryphal are roughly equivalent. However, fabulous stresses the marvelous or incredible character of something without necessarily implying impossibility or actual nonexistence.

a land of fabulous riches

When can fictitious be used instead of apocryphal?

The synonyms fictitious and apocryphal are sometimes interchangeable, but fictitious implies fabrication and suggests artificiality or contrivance more than deliberate falsification or deception.

fictitious characters

Where would legendary be a reasonable alternative to apocryphal?

The words legendary and apocryphal are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, legendary suggests the elaboration of invented details and distortion of historical facts produced by popular tradition.

the legendary exploits of Davy Crockett

In what contexts can mythical take the place of apocryphal?

The meanings of mythical and apocryphal largely overlap; however, mythical implies a purely fanciful explanation of facts or the creation of beings and events out of the imagination.

mythical creatures

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of apocryphal The stunt was meant to evoke an apocryphal story from 1972, when Keith Moon, the drummer of the Who, is said to have driven a Rolls-Royce into a pool at a Holiday Inn in Flint, Michigan. Erik Shilling, Robb Report, 25 Aug. 2025 The apocryphal anecdote endures as a cautionary tale of media’s power to shape reality to its owners’ interests. Emil Steiner, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025 The song uses John Lee Hooker’s track of the same name, about a devastating flood in Tupelo, as a jumping off point for an apocryphal tale about Elvis Presley’s birth in the same Mississippi city. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 29 July 2025 The music felt almost secondary to apocryphal stories tangential to the music. Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 22 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for apocryphal
Recent Examples of Synonyms for apocryphal
Adjective
  • The day seems to be controlled by a collapse in crypto and more speculative names.
    Jim Cramer, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2025
  • These concerns stem from high levels of speculative investment—totaling hundreds of billions of dollars—in artificial intelligence with few manifest payoffs, as well as the market’s top-heavy structure, with significant value concentrated in a handful of AI-bullish tech stocks.
    Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Inaccurate debunks Amid the recycled imagery, authentic pictures of National Guard members sleeping on the floor of a federal building in Los Angeles this week were falsely described as old or unauthentic.
    Emma Li, CBS News, 11 June 2025
  • Both games made changes to the core formula that longtime players didn't appreciate, such as an influx of unauthentic skins and a departure from the class system.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • The scientists behind the project hope those crystals will interact with the hypothetical dark matter particles known as WIMPs.
    Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2025
  • Ultimately, Bayless is going off of a hypothetical scenario that cannot be proven or disproven.
    MSNBC Newsweek, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • But companies that don’t have an issue with undocumented workers are facing the friction of having employees pulled aside by ICE officials.
    Diane Brady, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2025
  • The uptick in confrontations comes as the administration increases its efforts to deport millions of undocumented migrants, an approach critics say has led to aggressive enforcement tactics, due process violations and the mistreatment of migrants.
    Billal Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The Fort Worth Tarrant County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People premiered a new documentary Saturday, highlighting the lives of eight legendary Fort Worth and Tarrant County residents.
    Ciara McCarthy, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 12 Oct. 2025
  • What has stayed constant for the legendary marque?
    Morgan Korn, ABC News, 12 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Doorman highlights more recent scholarship that argues that this is an oversimplification of what were larger theoretical differences between the movement’s two founders.
    JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The York study is theoretical, rather than observation-based.
    Chris Young, Interesting Engineering, 14 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • The rest of the cast is similarly sleepwalking through a fanciful pantomime of Southern culture rather than a serious drama.
    Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 13 Oct. 2025
  • The second and more fanciful rescue comes some months later, after Wilbur has outgrown the Arables’ farm and settled into a bigger one down the road.
    Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025
Adjective
  • Last year, moments included a violinist perched 15 feet in the air with a cascading 20-foot dress, a crew of mythic horsehead creatures, the Raven, the Jester, Cersei, and Arachnea.
    Jenny Adams, Southern Living, 12 Oct. 2025
  • His return to offense was almost mythic.
    Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 11 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Apocryphal.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/apocryphal. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.

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