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falsehood

[ fawls-hoo d ]
/ ˈfɔls hʊd /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR falsehood ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a false statement; lie.
something false; an untrue idea, belief, etc.: The Nazis propagated the falsehood of racial superiority.
the act of lying or making false statements.
lack of conformity to truth or fact.
Obsolete. deception.

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RELATED WORDS

prevarication, deception, falsity, misstatement, cover-up, distortion, perjury, untruth, deceit, sham, dishonesty, fabrication, fallacy, fakery, falseness, canard, fable, story, fiction, fib

Nearby words

  1. false-negative,
  2. false-negative reaction,
  3. false-positive,
  4. false-positive reaction,
  5. false-start,
  6. falseness,
  7. falsetto,
  8. falsework,
  9. falsie,
  10. falsies

Origin of falsehood

First recorded in 1250–1300, falsehood is from the Middle English word falshede. See false, -hood

Synonym study

1. Falsehood, fib, lie, untruth refer to something untrue or incorrect. A falsehood is a statement that distorts or suppresses the truth, in order to deceive: to tell a falsehood about one's ancestry in order to gain acceptance. A fib denotes a trivial falsehood, and is often used to characterize that which is not strictly true: a polite fib. A lie is a vicious falsehood: to tell a lie about one's neighbor. An untruth is an incorrect statement, either intentionally misleading (less harsh, however, than falsehood or lie) or arising from misunderstanding or ignorance: I'm afraid you are telling an untruth.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for falsehood

British Dictionary definitions for falsehood

falsehood

/ (ˈfɔːlsˌhʊd) /

noun

the quality of being untrue
an untrue statement; lie
the act of deceiving or lying
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

Word Origin and History for falsehood

falsehood

n.

late 13c., falshede, "deceitfulness," also "a lie," from false + -hood.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper