untruth
Americannoun
plural
untruths-
the state or character of being untrue.
-
want of veracity; divergence from truth.
-
something untrue; a falsehood or lie.
- Synonyms:
- invention, fabrication, tale, story, fiction
-
Archaic. unfaithfulness; disloyalty.
noun
-
the state or quality of being untrue
-
a statement, fact, etc, that is not true
Related Words
See falsehood.
Etymology
Origin of untruth
First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English untrēowth: see un- 1, 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.
Like some of her real-world counterparts, Madame M. is essentially a chief disinformation officer more interested in supplying untruth than decrying it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
It follows that millions of applications have been filed over the years with some untruth inside, with the vast majority being approved.
From Slate • Sep. 15, 2025
That is because factual untruth requires continuous additional untruths to cover over and sustain the original one.
From Salon • Dec. 27, 2024
The crossbencher said, without that verification, "we're being asked to complicit in a present-day untruth and a future fantasy".
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2024
“One lie. What you said about your friend was an untruth, but that’s it. Who you are is not a lie.”
From "A High Five for Glenn Burke" by Phil Bildner
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.
