apocryphal

CEFRC2

/əˈpɒkɹɪfəl/

adjective

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Probably not true, although often told as a story.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Of doubtful authenticity, or lacking authority; not regarded as canonical.

Examples

  • Apocryphal stories are the most fun variety of bullshit.

  • That story about an apple falling on Newton's head is most probably apocryphal.

At a glance

Sits at C2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
4
Parts of speech
1
Citations
5
Synonyms
3

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Of dubious veracity; of questionable accuracy or truthfulness; anecdotal or in the nature of an urban legend.

  2. Of, or pertaining to, the Apocrypha.

More examples

In context

  • Many scholars consider the stories of the monk Teilo to be apocryphal.

  • There is an apocryphal tale of a little boy plugging the dike with his finger.

  • Besides all this, he had read his Bible, including the apocryphal books; […]

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The blank story about the emperor was never verified by historians.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

From apocrypha + -al.