spurious
adjUK /ˈspjʊə.ɹi.əs/ · US /ˈspjʊɹ.i.əs/
Etymology Borrowed from Late Latin spurius (“illegitimate, bastardly”), possibly related to sperno or from Etruscan.
1
False, not authentic, not genuine.
- His argument was spurious and had no validity.
- We witness that there is a relationship between government, media and industry that is evident even at this most spurious and superficial level. These three institutions support one another. We know that however cool a media outlet may purport to be, their primary loyalty is to their corporate backers. We know also that you cannot criticise the corporate backers openly without censorship and subsequent manipulation of this information.2013 September 13, Russell Brand, “Russell Brand and the GQ awards: 'It's amazing how absurd it seems'”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2023:
1 more example
- [Ilhan] Omar was left twisting in the wind earlier this year after facing spurious charges of antisemitism, a display of Democratic cowardice co-signed by Chelsea Clinton, Chuck Schumer, and most every other Democrat with a congressional leadership position.2019 July 19, Noah Kulwin, “Democrats Fail the Left, Once Again”, in Jewish Currents, archived from the original on 26 Apr 2023:
2
Extraneous, stray; not relevant or wanted.
- I tried to concentrate on the matter in hand, but spurious thoughts kept intruding.
- Spurious emissions from the wireless mast were causing nearby electrical equipment to go haywire.
3
Archaic Bastardly, illegitimate.
- […] who alſo in her prime of love, Spouſal embraces, vitiated with Gold, Though offer’d only, by the ſent conceiv’d Her ſpurious firſt-born; Treaſon againſt me?1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […].”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC, page 29, lines 389-392:
- Synonyms
- counterfeit, fake, false, bogus
- Antonyms
- genuine, representative
- Derived terms
- nonspurious, spurion, spuriosity, spurious diphthong, spurious infection, spurious language, spuriously, spuriousness, unspurious
- Related terms
- specious