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.

What defines him instead are various quips, mordant jokes and accounts of bizarre behavior, many no doubt apocryphal, recorded by his admirers and detractors in the centuries after his death.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Maybe it’s time to revive the old, possibly apocryphal Red Auerbach legends about fire alarms and turning off the air conditioning.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 2, 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

Even though there’s no proof that Díaz actually said the apocryphal quote, I get why it has lingered: It’s a great insult on multiple levels.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2024

In one possibly apocryphal story, doctors once trained a homeless man to do routine lab tests because there was no one else available.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell