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adjective

apocryphal

of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as true

In a sentence

Six example sentences with apocryphal, each labelled with its topic.

  • The story of the burned ships is probably apocryphal; no contemporary account mentions it and the harbor records disagree.

    History

  • The tale of the shark model sinking is apocryphal, though every making-of documentary repeats it as established fact.

    Movies

  • The claim that one bad forecast alone crashed the market is apocryphal, yet textbooks still repeat it uncritically.

    Economics

  • The apple falling on Newton's head is probably apocryphal, though he did describe watching apples drop in his garden.

    Science

  • The story that the founders wrote the first version in a weekend is apocryphal; the commit logs show four months.

    Startups

  • The tale of the guitarist selling his soul at a crossroads is apocryphal, yet it still shapes how people hear the records.

    Music

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Found in these word lists

Found in 8 published word listsRecognized

Each source is a published word list that contains apocryphal. No exam board publishes an official GRE, GMAT or SAT list; GMAT words come from GRE lists and the Academic Word List.