truth

[trooth]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR truth ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural truths [troothz, trooths] /truðz, truθs/.

the true or actual state of a matter: He tried to find out the truth.

conformity with fact or reality; verity: the truth of a statement.

a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.

the state or character of being true.

actuality or actual existence.

an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.

honesty; integrity; truthfulness.

(often initial capital letter) ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience: the basic truths of life.

agreement with a standard or original.

accuracy, as of position or adjustment.

Archaic. fidelity or constancy.

Nearby words

Idioms

in truth, in reality; in fact; actually: In truth, moral decay hastened the decline of the Roman Empire.

Origin of truth

before 900; Middle English treuthe, Old English trēowth (cognate with Old Norse tryggth faith). See true, -th¹

SYNONYMS FOR truth

1. fact. 2. veracity. 7. sincerity, candor, frankness. 10. precision, exactness.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR truth ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR truth

1. falsehood. 2, 4, 7. falsity.

SEE MORE ANTONYMS FOR truth ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formstruth·less, adjectivetruth·less·ness, nounmis·truth, nounnon·truth, noun

Can be confusedtruism truth (see confusables note at truism)

Confusables note

See truism.

Truth

[trooth]

noun

So·journ·er

[soh-jur-ner, soh-jur-ner] /ˈsoʊ dʒɜr nər, soʊˈdʒɜr nər/, Isabella Van Wagener, 1797?–1883, U.S. abolitionist, orator, and women's-rights advocate, born a slave.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for truth

Taraji manages to bring an equal measure of truth to the mother in her character.
‘Empire’ Review: Hip-Hop Musical Chairs with an Insane Soap Opera Twist|Judnick Mayard|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The media tend to frame situations like this as aberrations, but in this case, quite the opposite is the truth.
Today’s GOP: Still Cool With Racist Pandering?|Michael Tomasky|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And I need to ask why their truth makes me so defensive, as if my truth is the only truth.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
I need to resist my urge to talk them into my truth, just so I can feel more comfortable and secure.
In 2015, Let’s Try for More Compassion|Gene Robinson|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST

And besides, as a nation, we hold this truth to be self-evident: resolutions are made to be broken.
Forget the Resolutions; Try a Few Declarations|Kevin Bleyer|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The truth is, that we need both the discipline of harness and the abundant nourishment of the free pasture.
The Intellectual Life|=Philip Gilbert Hamerton
The truth is I haven't got it in me—the capacity to succeed.
The Fortune Hunter|Louis Joseph Vance
I reached out my hand to learn the truth, and touched a cold hand hanging limply over the threshold.
A Virginia Scout|Hugh Pendexter
We know in truth very little about her, but that little is quite unlike what we know about any one else.
Mysticism in English Literature|Caroline F. E. Spurgeon
Nothing but the truth has dictated these reminiscences, from which I have undoubtedly omitted many things of similar importance.
The Memoirs of Count Carlo Gozzi; Volume the first|Count Carlo Gozzi

British Dictionary definitions for truth

truth

noun

the quality of being true, genuine, actual, or factualthe truth of his statement was attested

something that is true as opposed to falseyou did not tell me the truth

a proven or verified principle or statement; factthe truths of astronomy

(usually plural) a system of concepts purporting to represent some aspect of the worldthe truths of ancient religions

fidelity to a required standard or law

faithful reproduction or portrayalthe truth of a portrait

an obvious fact; truism; platitude

honesty, reliability, or veracitythe truth of her nature

accuracy, as in the setting, adjustment, or position of something, such as a mechanical instrument

the state or quality of being faithful; allegiance

Related formsRelated adjectives: veritable, veracious

Derived Formstruthless, adjective

Word Origin for truth

Old English triewth; related to Old High German gitriuwida fidelity, Old Norse tryggr true

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 truth

truth

Old English triewð (West Saxon), treowð (Mercian) "faithfulness, quality of being true," from triewe, treowe "faithful" (see true), with Proto-Germanic abstract noun suffix *-itho (see -th (2)).

Meaning "accuracy, correctness" is from 1560s. Unlike lie (v.), there is no primary verb in English or most other IE languages for "speak the truth." Noun sense of "something that is true" is first recorded mid-14c.

Let [Truth] and Falsehood grapple; who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter. [Milton, "Areopagitica," 1644]

Truth squad in U.S. political sense first attested 1952. Truthiness "act or quality of preferring concepts or facts one wishes to be true, rather than those known to be true," catch word popularized in this sense by U.S. comedian Stephen Colbert, declared by American Dialect Society to be "2005 Word of the Year."

Idioms and Phrases with truth

truth

In addition to the idioms beginning with truth

truth is stranger than fiction
truth will out

also see:

gospel truth
home truth
moment of truth
naked truth
unvarnished truth

truth

noun, plural truths [troothz, trooths] /truðz, truθs/.

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of truth

Confusables note

Truth

noun

Examples from the Web for truth

truth

noun

Word Origin for truth

truth

truth