truism

American  

[troo-iz-uhm] / ˈtru ɪz əm /

noun

1. a self-evident, obvious truth.

   Synonyms:

   platitude, cliché

---

truism British  

/ ˈtruːɪzəm /

noun

1. an obvious truth; platitude

---

Commonly Confused

Contrary to what some people believe, the word truism is not a more elegant word for truth. While the word truth can occasionally be used to refer to a “truism,” since truisms are often true, the reverse—the use of truism to mean “truth”—is unwise. Truism stands for a certain kind of truth—a cliché, a platitude, something so self-evident that it is hardly worth mentioning. One can use it to accuse another writer or speaker of saying something so obvious or evident and trite that pointing it out is pointless. To say that a statement is a truism when you intend to compliment it as truthful, factual, even provable, will merely serve to confuse those who know that calling something a truism is not praise, but a criticism or insult. Note, however, that truism is used in a technical sense in mathematics or philosophy for restating something that is already known from its terms or premises. Examples of such truisms include: “Men are not women” and “Since the circumference of a circle equals twice the radius multiplied by π (2π r ), it equals the diameter multiplied by π (π d ).”

Other Word Forms

• truistic adjective
• truistical adjective

Etymology

Origin of truism

First recorded in 1700–10; true + -ism

Explanation

Here's a truism for you: Only people who look up words they don't know can expand their vocabularies. Did you find that statement obvious, boring, and saying nothing new or interesting? That's the perfect description of a truism. Sometimes truisms can be mistaken for factual statements. In fact, despite their seeming obviousness, they are usually opinions. Many people who look up words in the dictionary don't improve their vocabularies, as much as they'd like to. Another truism: You get what you pay for. Well, a lot of the time, sure, but not always. That's why the word bargain was invented.

Example Sentences

"There's a very commonly accepted truism in pediatric medicine that the face mirrors the brain, because the brain and the face form at the same time," Golding said.

From Science Daily • Mar. 27, 2026

Most of the stakeholders in F1 recognise that as a truism.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

I think that’s a truism for everyone trying to figure things out.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 27, 2026

The mayor seems not to have heard of the truism that if you tax something you get less of it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 31, 2025

As a moral declaration the old truism seems perfectly true, and yet because it abstracts, because it generalizes, I can’t believe it with my stomach.

From "The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien