adjective
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telling or expressing the truth; honest or candid
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realistic
a truthful portrayal of the king
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of truthful
Explanation
Truthful means honest or believable. A truthful answer to a question doesn't mince words—it is completely straightforward and accurate. If your little sister asks you whether the Tooth Fairy is real, you'll have to consider how truthful you want to be. You can think about whether the truthful answer will be to upsetting for her, since you're not under oath in a courtroom, where you're legally obligated to be truthful. A now-obsolete adjective with the same meaning was truthy, "characterized by truth."
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.
"Truthful reporting in the media is essential to our democracy."
From Salon • Apr. 20, 2023
Called the Proof of the Truthful, the argument proposed that existence requires that there be a necessary entity—an entity that cannot not exist.
From Textbooks • Jun. 15, 2022
Be Truthful you owe this to your friend.
From New York Times • Feb. 27, 2018
The firm earned awards for the phthalates campaign, which it dubbed “From Toxic to Truthful: Turning the Tide on Phthalates.”
From Time • Jan. 15, 2015
Truthful responses to these queries were not likely to be well received by the rangers.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
