ENGLISH DICTIONARY

Apocryphal

Definition, Meaning & Examples

Pronunciation /əˈpɒkɹɪfəl/ · Part of speech adjective

Quick meaning: Apocryphal is an adjective meaning (Christianity) Of, or pertaining to, the Apocrypha.

Meaning

(Christianity) Of, or pertaining to, the Apocrypha.

More Meanings

  1. (by extension) Of doubtful authenticity, or lacking authority; not regarded as canonical.
  2. (by extension) Of dubious veracity; of questionable accuracy or truthfulness; anecdotal or in the nature of an urban legend.

Example Sentences

Many scholars consider the stories of the monk Teilo to be apocryphal.
Besides all this, he had read his Bible, including the apocryphal books; […]
There is an apocryphal tale of a little boy plugging the dike with his finger.
The structural anthropologist urges us to ignore the orthodox who labor so patiently trying to eliminate the apocryphal variants from the one true text.

Synonyms for apocryphal

Depending on context, synonyms include allonymous, spurious, anecdotal, questionable.

Antonyms for apocryphal

Common opposites include canonical.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include questionable, apocatastatic, apostolic, apostrophal, apophysal, apophysary.

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Sources & Attribution

FreeDictionaryAPI.com / Wiktionary · Original source · CC BY-SA 4.0

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