C2adverbformalacademicmedia
US/ˈspjʊr.i.əs.li/
UK/ˈspjʊə.ri.əs.li/
in a false way that seems logical or genuine but is not based on real facts
In context
The two events were spuriously linked in the article, although nothing connected them.
Some people spuriously claim that the vaccine causes illness, but studies show no such link.
The results looked impressive, but the correlation was spuriously high because of a coding error.
Words that go with spuriously
adverb + verb
- spuriously claimThe report spuriously claimed that crime had fallen.
adverb + adjective
- spuriously correlatedIce cream sales and drowning are spuriously correlated.
- spuriously highThe scores were spuriously high because of cheating.
- spuriously linkedThe two cases were spuriously linked by the media.
verb + adverb
- argue spuriouslyHe argued spuriously that the law did not apply to him.