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
-
am falsifyingprogressive
-
are falsifyingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Salt to the Sea
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Unit 2: Vocabulary from Readings 1
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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
“The passage of Senate Bill 1159 is an important step to clarify the law and discourage the use of emerging technologies to falsify public records and mislead regulators in California,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026
In one instance in Nature, he said, “the methods used to falsify the data were incredibly primitive.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 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
To ensure secrecy held up, Nixon had the Air Force falsify reports on the bombing runs to look as if they took place over South Vietnam.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
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
Veteran rancher John Landsburg faces federal bureaucracy when his old enemy, Tap Peterson, falsifies documents and alleges that Landsburg doesn’t own his family ranch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2020
Brother Michael falsifies history as much as he does religion.
From The Religious Life of London by J. Ewing (James Ewing) Ritchie
She also made electronic transfers into accounts she controlled and falsified financial entries in an effort to hide her tracks, according to prosecutors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026
The agents had access to their logs and falsified some of them while they ran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
She had falsified records and one infant in her care had been found covered in their own faeces.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
At its core, the crime known as huachicol fiscal is a vast tax evasion scheme centered on falsified paperwork — and corrupt officials.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 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
Gox, he was acquitted of embezzlement by a Japanese court but found guilty of falsifying data.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 15, 2026
Last fall resulted in lots of controversy as numerous players were declared ineligible for falsifying paperwork.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 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 immediate advantages of falsifying the past were obvious, but the ultimate motive was mysterious.
From "1984" by George Orwell
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
