adjective
-
(intensifier; usually qualifying a word used metaphorically)
he's a veritable swine!
-
rare genuine or true; proper
I require veritable proof
Related Words
See authentic.
Other Word Forms
- nonveritable adjective
- nonveritableness noun
- nonveritably adverb
- unveritable adjective
- unveritableness noun
- unveritably adverb
- veritableness noun
- veritably adverb
Etymology
Origin of veritable
1425–75; late Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French. See verity, -able
Explanation
When something is veritable it is true, or at least feels that way. "The trees and lights turned the campus into a veritable wonderland" means that the campus seemed to be transformed into a true wonderland (if there is such a thing). Veritable comes from the Latin veritas which means true. But unlike true, it does not describe things like statements. It is often used to enhance the word that follows it. "A veritable cornucopia of food" is a lot of food of different varieties. If someone calls you "a veritable force of nature," they don't mean that you are actually a hurricane; they just mean that you have the unstoppable quality of a big old storm.
Vocabulary lists containing veritable
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Now the two sides are in a veritable shootout, marked by dueling proxy statements, accusations of broken confidentiality agreements and at least seven advisory firms billing hours on both sides of the Atlantic.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
At the time, Ortiz sported a veritable headdress of 1980s rock ’n’ roll hair.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
A veritable feast for the ears that shimmers with sound — a stray guitar flourish here, a pulsing synthesizer there.
From Salon • Mar. 6, 2026
It’s a veritable Jackson Pollock spattering of woes.
From Barron's • Jan. 29, 2026
The only real landmarks were bizarre and colorful lawn ornaments, of which Circle Village was a veritable open-air museum.
From "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children" by Ransom Riggs
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
