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If you describe something as ambiguous, you mean that it is unclear or confusing because it can be understood in multiple ways.
An authentic object or person is actual or real; it or they are not fake.
When the Catholic Church canonizes someone, they are officially declared a saint; this word also refers to placing a work of art or literature in an accepted group of the best of its kind.
A conjecture is a theory or guess that is based on information that is not certain or complete.
Something that is delusive deceives you by giving a false belief about yourself or the situation you are in.
If you disabuse someone of an idea or notion, you persuade them that the idea is in fact untrue.
If you describe something as ersatz, you dislike it because it is artificial or fake—and is used in place of a higher quality item.
Something factitious is not genuine or natural; it is made to happen in a forced, artificial way.
A fallacy is an idea or belief that is false.
A garbled message or speech is confusing and not understandable, often because it is spoken in a hurry or is communicated with lots of accompanying noise.
A mendacious person does not tell the truth.
A poseur pretends to have a certain quality or social position, usually because they want to influence others in some way.
If you prevaricate, you avoid giving a direct or honest answer, usually because you want to hide the truth or want to delay or avoid making a hard decision.
Probity is very moral and honest behavior.
Propriety is behaving in a socially acceptable and appropriate way.
A spurious statement is false because it is not based on sound thinking; therefore, it is not what it appears to be.
To be tentative is to be hesitant or uncertain about something; an agreement or decision of this kind is likely to have changes before it reaches its final form.
The veracity of something is its truthfulness.
Verisimilitude is something’s authenticity or appearance of being real or true.
Something that is veritable is authentic, actual, genuine, or without doubt.
The verity of something is the truth or reality of it.
Adj.
apocryphal
uh-POK-ruh-fuhl
Context
When the Stuart family moved into their rich uncle’s crumbling mansion, local apocryphal rumors questionably claimed that it was haunted. While exploring the attic, Sam Stuart, the youngest son, remembered the fictitious and apocryphal stories told about the ghost when he thought he saw a shadow in a dark corner. Hair raised on end, Sam shared his story at dinner, yet another incident added to the collection of doubtful, apocryphal tales about the house spirit.
Quiz:Try again!
What is an appropriate response to an apocryphal story?
Add details to the narrative to make it more interesting.
Apply its moral lesson in your interactions with others.
Investigate its source because it may not be factual.
A Pocket Full? Pinocchio once said he'd collected a whole pocket full of gold coins ... was Pinocchio's story true, or apocryphal, a pocket full of lies?
Examples
The story is apocryphal but widely believed because it epitomizes Steve Jobs and his unflagging obsession with originality, engineering authenticity, and design detail.
—
Christian Science Monitor
Springdale residents who remember Rachel as a young girl tell the story, perhaps true, perhaps apocryphal, that her romance with the ocean began one day when she found a large fossilized shell in the rocky outcroppings on the family’s hillside property.
—
Linda Lear, historian, from _Rachel Carson: Witness for Nature_
The grave of Abelard and Heloise: if someone proves to you that it is apocryphal, exclaim: "You are robbing me of my illusions!"
—
John Forrester, historian and philosopher, from _Dispatches from the Freud Wars
