Synonyms of spurious

spurious

adjective

ˈspyu̇r-ē-əs 

1

as in counterfeit

being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud

a spurious Picasso painting that wouldn't have fooled an art expert for a second

Synonyms & Similar Words

• counterfeit
• false
• fake
• forged
• bogus
• inauthentic
• snide
• imitation
• phony
• ornamental
• artificial
• synthetic
• sham
• unauthentic
• manufactured
• misleading
• deceptive
• factitious
• mock
• simulated
• dummy
• substitute
• mimic
• cultured
• delusive
• fabricated
• nonfunctioning
• man-made

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• real
• genuine
• authentic
• bona fide
• natural
• actual
• true
• unfaked
• valid

2

as in false

lacking in natural or spontaneous quality

claimed that the governor's election-year enthusiasm for conservation was spurious, since he had cut funding for state parks

Synonyms & Similar Words

• false
• mock
• unnatural
• strained
• fake
• exaggerated
• mechanical
• bogus
• pseudo
• artificial
• affected
• simulated
• factitious
• contrived
• assumed
• phony
• feigned
• plastic
• forced
• theatrical
• sham
• cute
• pretended
• put-on
• hollow
• automatic
• unreal
• unrealistic
• empty
• hypocritical
• calculated
• deliberate
• manufactured
• unauthentic
• insincere
• formal
• pat
• canned
• melodramatic
• fabricated
• facile
• unctuous
• hokey
• labored
• conventional
• concocted
• histrionic
• stiff
• conscious
• wooden
• stylized
• impersonal
• rigid
• mealy
• cultivated
• mincing
• two-faced
• cutesy
• premeditated
• artful
• simpering
• double-dealing
• mealymouthed
• genteel
• overacted
• inflexible
• studied
• overdone
• goody-goody
• left-handed
• overrefined

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• genuine
• spontaneous
• real
• natural
• true
• unaffected
• realistic
• authentic
• artless
• right
• bona fide
• ingenuous
• sincere
• honest
• unforced
• unfeigned
• easy
• uncontrived
• smooth
• unconscious
• effortless
• impulsive
• impromptu
• instinctive
• extemporaneous
• unpretending
• unstudied
• unrehearsed
• unprompted

3

as in illegitimate

born to a father and mother who are not married

the spurious son of Charles II, the Duke of Monmouth would later mount a rebellion in a disastrous attempt to claim the throne

Synonyms & Similar Words

• illegitimate
• supposititious
• misbegotten
• unfathered
• natural
• baseborn
• fatherless
• motherless
• adopted
• orphaned
• nameless

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• legitimate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of spurious

They may be based on a hunch, on data, on many hours of in-depth viewing and scouting, on some spurious AI nonsense, on something a guy in the pub told us. — Nick Miller, New York Times, 7 June 2026

Now that same leader can be felled by an Instagram pile-on or a spurious Substack rumor, and is likelier to shy from the long, slow, gritty work of governance. — Nathan Heller, New Yorker, 1 June 2026

Though the top judge later clarified that his remarks related only to individuals with spurious degrees and not India’s youth in general, the remarks kicked up a social media storm—which fueled thousands of sign-ups on CJP’s website, taking even Dipke by surprise. — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 May 2026

The most common objection is that tenants will game the system — filing spurious claims to pocket money or harass landlords. — Cole Hanson, Twin Cities, 10 May 2026

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