adjective
-
(intensifier; usually qualifying a word used metaphorically)
he's a veritable swine!
-
rare genuine or true; proper
I require veritable proof
Related Words
See authentic.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of veritable
1425–75; late Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French. See verity, -able
Explanation
When something is veritable it is true, or at least feels that way. "The trees and lights turned the campus into a veritable wonderland" means that the campus seemed to be transformed into a true wonderland (if there is such a thing). Veritable comes from the Latin veritas which means true. But unlike true, it does not describe things like statements. It is often used to enhance the word that follows it. "A veritable cornucopia of food" is a lot of food of different varieties. If someone calls you "a veritable force of nature," they don't mean that you are actually a hurricane; they just mean that you have the unstoppable quality of a big old storm.
Vocabulary lists containing veritable
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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.
Veritable Vegetable is a certified B Corp, which means that it meets a set of standards for social and environmental performance.
From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2019
On the elevator ride to the event at the Mandarin Oriental hotel, Dolan secured a $1,000 donation from a Jewish Philadelphian staying at the hotel named Brett Ian Rubinson, who works for Veritable LP.
From BusinessWeek • Dec. 6, 2011
Veritable saints when driving through the nation’s capital city.
From Washington Post
"Veritable triumph of the provincial cuisine," agreed the judges.
From Time Magazine Archive
Veritable thunder we now heard for the first time in Africa, and a cloud rose with great rapidity from the horizon.
From The Nile tributaries of Abyssinia, and the sword hunters of the Hamran arabs by Baker, Samuel White, Sir
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.
