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definitions

falsify

[fawl-suh-fahy]
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verb (used with object), fal·si·fied, fal·si·fy·ing.

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.

verb (used without object), fal·si·fied, fal·si·fy·ing.

to make false statements.

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Nearby words

  1. falsework,
  2. falsie,
  3. falsies,
  4. falsifiable,
  5. falsification,
  6. falsity,
  7. falstaff,
  8. falstaffian,
  9. falster,
  10. faltboat

Origin of falsify

1400–50; late Middle English falsifien < Middle French falsifier < Late Latin falsificāre. See false, -ify
SYNONYMS FOR falsify
1, 3. See misrepresent. 4. rebut, discredit, refute, confute, controvert.
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for falsifiability

falsify

verb -fies, -fying or -fied (tr)

to make (a report, evidence, accounts, etc) false or inaccurate by alteration, esp in order to deceive
to prove false; disprove
Derived Formsfalsifiable, adjectivefalsification (ˌfɔːlsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən), nounfalsifier, noun

Word Origin for falsify

C15: from Old French falsifier, from Late Latin falsificāre, from Latin falsus false + facere to make
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 falsifiability

falsify

v.

mid-15c., "to prove false," from Middle French falsifier (15c.), from Late Latin falsificare (see falsify). Meaning "to make false" is from c.1500. Earlier verb was simply falsen (c.1200). Related: Falsified; falsifying.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper