truth serum

American

[trooth seer-uhm] / ˈtruθ ˌsɪər əm /

Often truth drug

noun

a drug, as the barbiturate thiopental, that induces in the subject a desire to talk or a state of heightened suggestibility, used in psychotherapy and in interrogation to discover repressed or consciously withheld information.

Etymology

Origin of truth serum

First recorded in 1920–25

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:

truth serum

As the YouTube hit demonstrates, hot sauce isn’t just for daredevils and masochists: It’s a truth serum.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025

The playfulness kicks in when George and Kathryn invite the other suspects over for a dinner spiced with garlic and truth serum.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2025

And if Carroll was given a dose of truth serum, the hunch here is he would acknowledge this as his most satisfying season in Seattle.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 9, 2023

Now it was being recast as a kind of truth serum, a tool of deep personal introspection.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2021

I don’t need to search myself for my deepest, darkest secrets to know that truth serum is the last thing.

From "Insurgent" by Veronica Roth

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023