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spurious

 - 5 dictionary results

spu⋅ri⋅ous

  [spyoor-ee-uhs]
Use spurious in a Sentence
–adjective
1. not genuine, authentic, or true; not from the claimed, pretended, or proper source; counterfeit.
2. Biology. (of two or more parts, plants, etc.) having a similar appearance but a different structure.
3. of illegitimate birth; bastard.
Origin:
1590–1600; < L spurius bastard, perh. < Etruscan; see -ous

Related forms:
spu⋅ri⋅ous⋅ly, adverb
spu⋅ri⋅ous⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
1. false, sham, bogus, mock, feigned, phony; meretricious, deceitful.

Antonyms:
1. genuine.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To spurious
spu·ri·ous   (spyŏŏr'ē-əs)   
adj.  

  1. Lacking authenticity or validity in essence or origin; not genuine; false.

  2. Of illegitimate birth.

  3. Botany Similar in appearance but unlike in structure or function. Used of plant parts.


[From Late Latin spurius, from Latin, illegitimate, probably of Etruscan origin.]
spu'ri·ous·ly adv., spu'ri·ous·ness n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

spurious 
1598, "born out of wedlock," from L. spurius "illegitimate, false" (cf. It. spurio, Sp. espurio), from spurius (n.) "illegitimate child," probably from Etruscan spural "public." Sense of "having an irregular origin, not properly constituted" is from 1601; that of "false, sham" is from 1615.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: spu·ri·ous
Pronunciation: 'spyur-E-&s
Function: adjective
: simulating a symptom or condition without being pathologically ormorphologically genuine <spurious labor pains> <spurious polycythemia> spurious bony deposit—Robert Chawner>
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Medical Dictionary

spurious spu·ri·ous (spy&oobreve;r'ē-əs)
adj.
Similar in appearance or symptoms but unrelated in morphology or pathology; false.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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