spurious

/ˈspjʊə.ɹi.əs/

//ˈspjʊə.ɹi.əs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"spurious" is a 8-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“spurious” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #30,602. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#30,602
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
2
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - False, not authentic, not genuine.

Corpus desk

Index EN-spurious · spurious · English

spurious · rank #30,602 · 11 variants · 2 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #30,602
  • LEN-LONG 8 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 2 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH spectrometry

Nearest frequency peer: spectrometry (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “spurious”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “spurious” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

spurious vs serious
75% similar
spurious vs spacious
75% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for spurious
PropertyValue
Headwordspurious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˈspjʊə.ɹi.əs/
Letters8
Frequency rank#30,602
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs2
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “spurious” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).spurious lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around spurious (IPA /ˈspjʊə.ɹi.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #30,602 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for spurious, with forms such as "psurious", "sppurious", and "spruious". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 2 confusable-pair relationships, "serious", "spacious", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Late Latin spurius (“illegitimate, bastardly”), possibly related to sperno or from Etruscan. The correct English form is spurious, spelled S-P-U-R-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    False, not authentic, not genuine.
  2. 2
    Extraneous, stray; not relevant or wanted.
  3. 3
    Bastardly, illegitimate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how spurious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. His argument was spurious and had no validity.
  2. We witness that there is a relationship between government, media and industry that is evident even at this most spurious and superficial level. These three institutions support one another. We know that however cool a media outlet may purport to be, their primary loyalty is to their corporate backers. We know also that you cannot criticise the corporate…

Etymology

Borrowed from Late Latin spurius (“illegitimate, bastardly”), possibly related to sperno or from Etruscan.

Synonyms

counterfeitfakefalsebogus

Antonyms

genuinerepresentative

This word in other languages

espurio(Español)faux(Français)unecht(Deutsch)espúrio(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • psurious
  • sppurious
  • spruious
  • spuirous
  • spuriosu
  • spuriouss
  • spuriuos
  • spuroius
  • spurrious
  • sspurious
  • suprious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of spurious - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

psurious2sppurious1spruious2spuirous2spuriosu2spuriouss1spuriuos2spuroius2
Edit distance from "spurious"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 3, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "spurious"?
"spurious" is spelled S-P-U-R-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˈspjʊə.ɹi.əs/.
What does "spurious" mean?
As an adjective, "spurious" means: False, not authentic, not genuine.
What words are commonly confused with "spurious"?
"spurious" is commonly confused with "serious", "spacious". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "spurious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "spurious" is /ˈspjʊə.ɹi.əs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "spurious"?
Borrowed from Late Latin spurius (“illegitimate, bastardly”), possibly related to sperno or from Etruscan. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "spurious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 8 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

smuggler#30,590sketched#30,587Sandusky#30,575salinity#30,573

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

sundown11 variantspyjamas11 variantsputative11 variantswineries11 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "spurious". Here's where to go from here.

  • "spurious" maps to 2 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "serious". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #30,602 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "S" letter cohort. S–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list