half-truth
Americannoun
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a statement that is only partly true, especially one intended to deceive, evade blame, or the like.
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a statement that fails to divulge the whole truth.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
See Examples For:
Add to that social media and its capacity to spread innuendo, half-truth, fabrication and common ignorance.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
And it’s also considered a misrepresentation to state a half-truth, leaving out vital information needed to place a statement in context.
From Slate ● Jul. 23, 2021
Not for him the mealy-mouthed half-truth, the small evasion.
From Salon ● Apr. 24, 2020
If a song can make you love a lie, or at least a complicated half-truth, this one does it.
From New York Times ● Oct. 15, 2019
“I told her I needed to think about it on my own for a while,” Joaquin said instead, which he considered a half-truth and therefore not really a lie.
From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway
No one should be held hostage to other people’s decisions or half-truths.
From MarketWatch ● Feb. 19, 2026
Pennsylvania’s Secretary of State, Al Schmidt, said “spreading videos and other information that lack context and sharing social posts with half-truths and even outright lies is harmful to our representative democracy”.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2024
Initial sessions tend to be colored by weeping, hesitancy and half-truths as the clinician and client get a feel for each other.
From Salon ● Oct. 16, 2024
Technically, I’m sure a product expert could say that some of the product did penetrate into the top layer of wood fibers, but I feel half-truths are whole lies.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 17, 2023
Mom’s embellishments and half-truths usually equip her to tell a good story, though.
From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García
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.
