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.

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

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

Can be confusedtruism truth (see confusables note at truism)

Synonyms for truth

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR truth ON THESAURUS.COM

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

Antonyms for truth

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

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

Related Words for truth

truthfulness, legitimacy, veracity, certainty, principle, authenticity, fact, accuracy, faith, revelation, sincerity, integrity, realism, truism, nitty-gritty, maxim, facts, verisimilitude, score, actuality

Examples from the Web for truth

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of truth

The testimony of Pericles, Alcibiades, and Plato, confirmed the truth of his words.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
"In truth, my father, I wished to avoid the pain of parting," rejoined Philæmon.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
Listen to the voice that tries to win you back to innocence and truth!
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
But I got him too straight—let a drunken man alone for telling the truth when he's got it in him.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson
In truth, it's amazing to take count of the Western men among us in all the professions.
The Spenders
Harry Leon Wilson

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

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