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 Bible study, the term Apocrypha refers to sections of the Bible that are not sanctioned as belonging to certain official canons. In some Protestant versions, these sections appear between the Old and New Testaments. More generally, the word refers to writings or statements whose purported origin is in doubt. Consequently, the adjective apocryphal describes things like legends and anecdotes that are purported to be true by way of repeated tellings but that have never been proven or verified and, therefore, most likely are not factual. Both apocrypha and apocryphal derive, via Latin, from the Greek verbal adjective apokrýptein, meaning "to hide (from), keep hidden (from)," from krýptein ("to conceal, hide").

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

Cleopatra is rumored to have worn one as a bracelet, but the story is almost certainly apocryphal—ball pythons have never been native to Egypt. —Rebecca Giggs, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2024

There is a likely apocryphal story about how Michelangelo, upon getting criticism about David’s nose being too big, climbed a ladder and pretended to chisel it. —Rita Bullwinkel, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024

The antagonists are easy to identify; less so the heroes in Herbert’s book series, which tracks the rise of Chalamet’s character — the apocryphal savior, or Kwisatz Haderach — with great skepticism. —Peter Debruge, Variety, 21 Feb. 2024

Reports that Sedgwick didn’t finish this line before a Confederate sniper’s bullet fatally found him at the Battle of Spotsylvania Court House are apocryphal. —Scott Lafee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Jan. 2024

Richard Nixon, 1970 A possibly apocryphal tale about Nixon's photo op with his turkey claims the bird was so rattled, its feet had to be nailed to the table. —Alex Heigl, Peoplemag, 20 Nov. 2023

The central character — sung with incandescent grace by soprano Brianna J. Robinson — is called Tobi, after an apocryphal name of a wise leader of the Igbo Landing rebels. —Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 19 June 2023

Indeed, there’s little historical evidence to substantiate apocryphal accounts that an Army detachment lost a gold shipment in the Pennsylvania wilderness, possibly after an ambush by Confederate sympathizers. —Michael Rubinkam, Fortune, 7 Oct. 2023

That quotation is perhaps apocryphal but also contains a large grain of truth. —Viviane Callier, Scientific American, 27 Sep. 2023

Word History

Etymology

apocrypha + -al entry 1

First Known Use

1583, in the meaning defined at sense 1