adjective
spurious
SPYUR-ee-uhs/ˈspjʊriəs/
Not genuine or valid.
The spurious gold ingot reveals a gray metal core beneath its peeling coating.
Etymology
Latin spurius meant illegitimate or false. English moved from describing birth outside marriage to irregular origin, then to things that are not genuine or do not come from their claimed source.
In context
it is spurious misinformation that they're presenting but it is superficially extremely compelling and sounds very sciencey
More examples
- An expert identifies the signature on the letter as spurious.
- She rejects the spurious excuse for canceling the meeting.
- The study finds a spurious link between unrelated events.
Forms
spurious
spuriously adverb — In a false or unfounded way.
spuriousness noun — The quality of being false or unfounded.
Similar words
- bogus
- More informal; describes something fake or not valid.
- unfounded
- Emphasizes a lack of evidence rather than false authenticity.
- counterfeit
- Usually describes an imitation deliberately made to pass as genuine.