different between mistaken vs spurious

English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /m?s?te?k?n/
• Rhymes: -e?k?n

Verb

mistaken

1. past participle of mistake

   I'm frequently mistaken for my brother.

Adjective

mistaken (comparative more mistaken, superlative most mistaken)

1. Erroneous.

   A mistaken sense of loyalty.

2. (with a copula verb, often with about) Having an incorrect belief.

   I think you must be mistaken.

   He admitted he was mistaken about the budget numbers.

Usage notes

• The phrase if I'm not mistaken (and variations) is used to indicate that one is uncertain about something one has said.
• Nouns to which mistaken is often applied: identity, belief, notion, view, assumption, impression, idea, thinking, identification, diagnosis, interpretation, person, opinion, conclusion, judgment, conception, perception, theory, reading, concept.

Derived terms

• mistaken identity

Translations

Anagrams

• mankiest

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?spj??.?i.?s/
• (US) IPA^(key): /?spj?.?i.?s/, /?sp?.?i.?s/, /?spj?.?i.?s/
• Rhymes: -???i?s

Adjective

spurious (comparative more spurious, superlative most spurious)

1. False, not authentic, not genuine.

   His argument was spurious and had no validity.

   • 2013, Russell Brand, Russell Brand and the GQ awards: 'It's amazing how absurd it seems' (in The Guardian, 13 September 2013)[1]

     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 backers openly without censorship and subsequent manipulation of this information.
2. Extraneous; stray; not relevant or wanted.

   I tried to concentrate on the matter in hand, but spurious thoughts kept intruding.

   Spurious emissions from the wireless mast were causing nearby electrical equipment to go haywire.

3. (archaic) bastardly, illegitimate

Synonyms

• (false): counterfeit, fake, false, bogus
• See also Thesaurus:fake
• See also Thesaurus:illegitimate

Antonyms

• (false): genuine, representative

Derived terms

• spuriosity
• spuriously
• spuriousness

Translations

See also

• specious