apocryphal C2 Topic:Politics & International Affairs US /əˈpɑːkɹɪfəl/ UK /əˈpɒkɹɪfəl/ See IPA manual Freq #65925 Meanings 1 adj Of doubtful authenticity, or lacking authority; not regarded as canonical. Many scholars consider the stories of the monk Teilo to be apocryphal. 2 adj Of dubious veracity; of questionable accuracy or truthfulness; anecdotal or in the nature of an urban legend. There is an apocryphal tale of a little boy plugging the dike with his finger. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 adj · of doubtful authenticity,... allonymousspurious 2 adj · of dubious veracity; of... anecdotal Word family Derived forms semiapocryphalunapocryphal Related forms apocryphaapocryphalistapocryphallyapocryphalness Etymology From apocrypha + -al. Topics Politics & International Affairs External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # apocryphal **Type:** Word **Level:** C2 **Part of speech:** adj **IPA (US):** /əˈpɑːkɹɪfəl/ **IPA (UK):** /əˈpɒkɹɪfəl/ **Frequency rank:** 65925 ## Meanings 1. Of doubtful authenticity, or lacking authority; not regarded as canonical. 2. Of dubious veracity; of questionable accuracy or truthfulness; anecdotal or in the nature of an urban legend. ## Examples - 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. ## Synonyms - allonymous - spurious - anecdotal ## Derived Forms - semiapocryphal - unapocryphal ## Related Forms - apocrypha - apocryphalist - apocryphally - apocryphalness ## Etymology From apocrypha + -al. ## Topics - Politics & International Affairs markdown