truthiness

American  

[troo-thee-nis] / ˈtru θi nɪs /

noun

1. the quality of seeming to be true according to one's intuition, opinion, or perception without regard to logic, factual evidence, or the like.

   the growing trend of truthiness as opposed to truth.

2. Rare. truthfulness or faithfulness.

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truthiness British  

/ ˈtruːθɪˌnəs /

noun

1. informal (of a belief, etc) the quality of being considered to be true because of what the believer wishes or feels, regardless of the facts

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Etymology

Origin of truthiness

First recorded in 1820–30; truthiness def. 1 was coined in 2005 by Stephen Colbert (1964– ), U.S. comedian and TV host; truth + -y ¹ + -ness

Example Sentences

Caron calls Rainbow's approach "truthiness satire," exposing the simulacrum by creating a competing, obviously false reality, exposing both worlds as fakes.

From Salon • Apr. 30, 2022

In the wake of Facebook’s Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal, the saying has a truthiness to it.

From Slate • Dec. 26, 2019

Perhaps, though, in these truthiness times, many of us are trying to steer in a better direction.

From Seattle Times • Apr. 26, 2019

Even when his characters are at their most deadpan, their most inexplicably ignorant, there’s a wink—something real lurks beneath the mask, a hint of truthiness.

From The New Yorker • Nov. 18, 2018

"This really happened," we're told at the top, a guarantor of authenticity that may bring "American Hustle" and other exercises in cinematic truthiness to mind.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2018