half-truth
Americannoun
plural
half-truths-
a statement that is only partly true, especially one intended to deceive, evade blame, or the like.
-
a statement that fails to divulge the whole truth.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of half-truth
First recorded in 1650–60
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.
Always with the apology, the half truth and blatant lying to protect profits.
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2018
One of my new songs says, “Gone is U Street totally / But the Bad Brains still exist,” which is kind of a half truth.
From Washington Post • May 26, 2016
This I can do because I have done it before — it’s half-prayer, half truth, a whisper in a hurricane of self doubt.”
From Washington Post • Jan. 14, 2016
There’s a half truth in there, there’s something in it.
From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2015
When the public protests, confronted with some obvious evidence of damaging results of pesticide applications, it is fed little tranquilizing pills of half truth.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
