• Today's Word

Spurious

🔊 Listen to the word Spurious

SPYOOR-ee-us

Definition

(adjective) Not being what it purports to be; false or fake, though having a deceptive appearance of genuineness.

Example

The article was filled with spurious statistics that couldn’t be verified by any reliable source.

Word Origin

Late 16th century: from Latin “spurius” meaning “illegitimate” or “false,” of unknown ultimate origin.

Fun Fact

Spurious originally described illegitimate children before evolving to describe anything falsely claiming authenticity. Scientists use “spurious correlation” for statistical relationships that appear meaningful but result from coincidence—like ice cream sales correlating with drowning deaths (both increase in summer). Spurious combines the appearance of legitimacy with actual falseness, making it more insidious than obvious fakes. The term “spurious ware” once described pottery made to look expensive but crafted from cheap materials. Modern misinformation often succeeds precisely because it’s spurious rather than obviously false—sophisticated enough to deceive those not looking carefully. Unlike lies, which are deliberately false, spurious things might even fool their creators.