apocryphal

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Havel tells the apocryphal story of a greengrocer who refuses to place a sign proclaiming “Workers of the world, unite!” in his shop window.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 30, 2026

Much of “Flour” is concerned with the woman’s conversation with her driver about a parable from the apocryphal Gospel of Thomas that he is translating from Coptic—a tale, he says, about emptiness and unknowing.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025

An apocryphal story has George Washington breakfasting with Thomas Jefferson and referring to the Senate as a saucer intended to cool the passions of the intemperate lower chamber.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2025

What of President Jackson's likely apocryphal rebuttal of the power of the courts, that they don't have an army to make him follow their rulings?

From Salon • Feb. 19, 2025

But he wasn’t called anything because this is an apocryphal story, which means that it is a lie, too.

From "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time" by Mark Haddon