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
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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
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
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
One falsifies a key issue at an early turn on the U.S. path toward involvement in that war, while the other misrepresents an important turning point in its very last stage.
From Salon ● Nov. 12, 2018
If a book is published which falsifies history, it is our right, and, if the falsification is important, it may be our duty, to expose the error.
From The New England Magazine, Volume 1, No. 5, Bay State Monthly, Volume 4, No. 5, May, 1886 by Various
The agents had access to their logs and falsified some of them while they ran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 22, 2026
In addition to the documents which Deloitte helped to backdate, Abramovich's advisers at MeritServus falsified a third set of records.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 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
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
As philosopher of science Karl Popper has emphasized, a good theory is characterized by the fact that it makes a number of predictions that could in principle be disproved or falsified by observation.
From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking
Song's supervisor at the social service centre was also given a suspended jail sentence for helping him dodge his duties, including falsifying records to make it look like Song had reported to work.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 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
Tactics include changing vessel names and falsifying coordinates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 11, 2026
The immediate advantages of falsifying the past were obvious, but the ultimate motive was mysterious.
From "1984" by George Orwell
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
