ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsAapocryphal
ISEE/SSAThard
apocryphal
Meaning: of doubtful authenticity; widely repeated but not proven true
apocryphal in a sentence
How apocryphal is used in real sentences:
The apocryphal story about the inventor's childhood sounded inspiring, but no historian could confirm it.
The biography included an apocryphal anecdote that appeared in no letters, journals, or official records.
“An apocryphal story claimed that the same species had once stripped a careless botanist's backpack overnight, but no field record could substantiate the tale.”
— from the passage The Tremor Above
“The seller's apocryphal story—that it had been rescued from a burning monastery—impressed newspapers, although he offered no record of its ownership.”
— from the passage The Disputed Leaves
“An apocryphal tale soon circulated that an ancient cedar had survived every fire for three centuries, but no dated record confirmed its veracity.”
— from the passage The Patient Burn
Synonyms for apocryphal
Other words for apocryphal — of questionable authenticity, unauthenticated, spurious and unverified — carry the same meaning.
- of questionable authenticity
- unauthenticated
- spurious
- unverified
Antonyms of apocryphal
Words that mean the opposite of apocryphal:
- authentic
- verified
- genuine
Where it comes from
From Greek apokryphos 'hidden, obscure' (apo- 'away' + kryptein 'to hide').
Memory hook
An apocryphal story is like a copy you cannot prove came from the original.
Practice apocryphal in the app