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in vino veritas

American  
[in wee-noh we-ri-tahs, in vahy-noh ver-i-tas, -tahs, vee-noh] / ɪn ˈwi noʊ ˈwɛ rɪˌtɑs, ɪn ˈvaɪ noʊ ˈvɛr ɪˌtæs, -tɑs, ˈvi noʊ /
Latin.
  1. in wine there is truth.


in vino veritas British  
/ ɪn ˈviːnəʊ ˈvɛrɪˌtæs /
  1. in wine there is truth; people speak the truth when they are drunk

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

in vino veritas Cultural  
  1. A Latin phrase suggesting that people are more likely to say what they really feel under the influence of alcohol. It means, “There is truth in wine.”


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.

It means private school kids can know that in vino veritas because their schools were acting in loco parentis.

From The Guardian • Apr. 8, 2016

"Anger," Dr. Bach concludes, "cannot be dishonest"�the security-blanket generalization that all the anger buffs cling to, and one as perilously misleading as "in vino veritas."

From Time Magazine Archive

I repeat I'm not going to attempt to justify myself, even if I couldn't, which I can, but in vino veritas, which I think you'll admit is Latin.

From Poor Relations by MacKenzie, Compton

There could be no doubt that he was offended and insulted: therefore, according to the principle in vino veritas, he might pluck up courage to surprise us when least expected.

From Ismailia by Baker, Samuel White, Sir

Amusements are at all times among the best indications of national character; a truth which the ancients seem to have exaggerated into their maxim in vino veritas.

From The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction Volume 12, No. 330, September 6, 1828 by Various

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