falsify
Americanverb (used with object)
-
falsifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
falsified,
past participle, past
-
falsifying
present participle
-
to make false or incorrect, especially so as to deceive.
to falsify income-tax reports.
-
to alter fraudulently.
-
to represent falsely.
He falsified the history of his family to conceal his humble origins.
-
to show or prove to be false; disprove.
to falsify a theory.
- Synonyms:
- controvert, confute, refute, discredit, rebut
verb (used without object)
-
falsifies,
present (3rd person singular)
-
falsified,
past participle, past
-
falsifying
present participle
verb
-
to make (a report, evidence, accounts, etc) false or inaccurate by alteration, esp in order to deceive
-
to prove false; disprove
Synonym Usage
See misrepresent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
falsifysimple
-
falsifiessimple
-
have falsifiedperfect
-
has falsifiedperfect
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am falsifyingprogressive
-
are falsifyingprogressive
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is falsifyingprogressive
-
have been falsifyingperfect progressive
-
has been falsifyingperfect progressive
Past
-
falsifiedsimple
-
had falsifiedperfect
-
was falsifyingprogressive
-
were falsifyingprogressive
-
had been falsifyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of falsify
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English falsifien, from Middle French falsifier, from Late Latin falsificāre; see origin at false, -ify
Explanation
To falsify is to alter or mangle something, like a message or document, in a way that distorts the meaning. Since false things aren't true, to falsify something is to dishonestly change its meaning. If a friend tells you a story, and then you retell the story but change important facts, you falsified the story. If you lie in court — commit perjury — you're falsifying the facts. Faking someone else's signature is another type of falsifying, as is lying on your resume. Anytime you misrepresent the truth, you're falsifying.
Vocabulary lists containing falsify
A Long Way from Chicago
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Salt to the Sea
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Unit 2: Vocabulary from Readings 1
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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.
See Examples For:
Militaries worldwide have long struggled with perverse incentives to falsify what’s actually happening on the battlefield.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
Candidates or senators who willingly falsify financial disclosures can be fined up to $50,000 or prosecuted for making a false statement to the government, a felony.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
“Why would that be the case that someone who got a gift card is more likely to falsify than someone who thinks I’m going to get $6,000 at the end of this?” she said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said that it was "intolerable" that the revision books for the French school leavers' exam, the baccalaureat, "falsify the facts" about the "terrorist and antisemitic attacks by Hamas".
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
It makes predictions and claims that are almost impossible to falsify since an alternative formulation consistent with what happened is always easy to dream up.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
If someone intentionally falsifies their disclosure reports, they can face criminal penalties — a warning printed below the signature line of the reports themselves.
From Salon ● Apr. 13, 2023
It falsifies not just Black history but American history.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 2, 2023
Treasury has said that anyone who falsifies documentation or otherwise hides the true origin or price of Russian oil would face consequences under the domestic law of jurisdictions implementing the price cap.
From Reuters ● Sep. 20, 2022
“If a federal law enforcement officer lies, manipulates witnesses, and falsifies evidence, should the officer be liable for damages?” the U.S.
From New York Times ● Sep. 12, 2021
"The safest investment of the kind in America," said one Chicago paper, unless the circular falsifies; "Considered as a sure success," said a second.
From The Galaxy, June 1877 Vol. XXIII.—June, 1877.—No. 6. by Various
The strongest warnings were about poorly carried out observations and falsified records – basic care needed to keep patients safe.
From BBC ● Sep. 14, 2026
The lawyer and the archivist were later convicted on falsified documents-related charges, though the lawyer’s case is being retried.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
The woman alleged that the deputy falsified a break-in report just to visit her home, and he later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges, according to a civil lawsuit and court records.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2026
And it upheld the lower court's conclusion that Yoon had prepared falsified documents, but had not actually used them.
From Barron's ● Apr. 29, 2026
But in the cases of the nova of 1572 and the comet of 1577 the data necessitated the phenomenon, and the phenomenon falsified the established theory.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
Last fall resulted in lots of controversy as numerous players were declared ineligible for falsifying paperwork.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Morens is facing five counts related to allegedly destroying, altering or falsifying records in a federal investigation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 28, 2026
So far, the head of the institute has said the only reasons to strip fellows of their titles is if they’ve conducted scientific misconduct, things like falsifying data, Twelvetrees said.
From Salon ● Feb. 24, 2026
The prosecution argued that falsifying flight records was rampant across the industry and Wright was worried his involvement in this practice would be blamed for the crash.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025
The vagueness lies in the focus of the negation—which phrase the writer had in mind as falsifying the whole sentence.
From "The Sense of Style" by Steven Pinker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
