veracity

American  

[vuh-ras-i-tee] / vəˈræs ɪ ti /

noun

• veracities
  plural

1. habitual observance of truth in speech or statement; truthfulness.

   He was not noted for his veracity.

   Synonyms:

   credibility, integrity, honesty

2. conformity to truth or fact; accuracy.

   to question the veracity of his account.

3. correctness or accuracy, as of the senses or of a scientific instrument.

4. something veracious; a truth.

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veracity British  

/ vɛˈræsɪtɪ /

noun

1. truthfulness or honesty, esp when consistent or habitual

2. precision; accuracy

3. something true; a truth

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonveracity
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• veracities
  plural

Etymology

Origin of veracity

First recorded in 1615–25; from Medieval Latin vērācitās, from Latin vērāc-, stem of vērāx “true” + -itās -ity

Explanation

The word veracity means truthfulness or accuracy. If you question the veracity of your friend's story about being invited to tea at Buckingham Palace, you wonder whether it's true. At a legal trial, witnesses must swear to the veracity of their testimony, promising that everything they say will be the truth and nothing but the truth. Veracity shares the Latin root verus, "truth," with words including verify, "confirm the truth of," and veritable, "true or real."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

veracity veracities

In court documents viewed by The Wall Street Journal, the widow, Wathén-Fayed, disputed the veracity of the claims made by some of Al Fayed’s victims.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

Rev Adrian McCartney was among those who helped report the initial serious allegation, which was ultimately found to have no veracity, made by the vulnerable woman.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

Ross has been entrusted to judge others’ veracity, yet her own candor is in question.

From Slate ● Jun. 8, 2026

But "at some point, the markets are going to start to question the veracity of some of his statements," he added.

From Barron's ● Apr. 2, 2026

But no one ever doubted the veracity of any story about Baba.

From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini

We must wake up to the iron veracities of this war," he wrote, "and then face them not merely without flinching but with redoubled energy of will and effort.

From Time Magazine Archive

On the contrary, a canal or cattle piece of Cuyp's had many veracities about it; but they were, at best, truths of the ditch and dairy.

From Modern Painters. Vol. III (of V) Containing Part IV. Of Many Things by John Ruskin

But my business is only to state veracities and necessities; I neither look for the acceptance of the one, nor hope for the nearness of the other.

From The Crown of Wild Olive also Munera Pulveris; Pre-Raphaelitism; Aratra Pentelici; The Ethics of the Dust; Fiction, Fair and Foul; The Elements of Drawing by John Ruskin

To spoil a child is no easy task, for Nature is all the time working in behalf of the childish virtues and veracities, and is gently correcting the abnormalities of education.

From Humanly Speaking by Samuel McChord Crothers

But if you go on into the veracities of the school of Clay, you will find there is something at the roots of almond and apple trees, which is—This.

From Lectures on Landscape Delivered at Oxford in Lent Term, 1871 by John Ruskin

Related Words

• accuracy
• authenticity
• credibility
• fairness
• genuineness
• honesty
• impartiality
• integrity
• probity
• rectitude
• rightness
• sincerity
• trustworthiness
• truthfulness