verity
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being true; accordance with fact or reality.
to question the verity of a statement.
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something that is true, as a principle, belief, idea, or statement.
the eternal verities.
noun
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the quality or state of being true, real, or correct
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a true principle, statement, idea, etc; a truth or fact
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of verity
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin vēritās, from vēr(us) “true” + -itās -ity
Explanation
If your friend tells you she saw a UFO yesterday afternoon, you might be inclined to question the verity, or truthfulness, of her statement. Everyone knows UFOs are only visible at night. Verity can also be used to mean “a true idea, belief, or statement.” Abstract concepts like love and goodness are often referred to as verities, conveying the idea that they are universal truths. Verity is related to the word verify, meaning “to determine whether something is true." If your friend tells you that UFO story again, you should verify its verity!
Vocabulary lists containing verity
The Tragedy of Macbeth
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The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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"Macbeth" Vocabulary from Act III
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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.
See Examples For:
The MyVote website does require a ballot requestor to verity that they are the person asking for it and carries a warning about potential penalties for committing fraud.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 4, 2022
But it is also a reminder of a cultural verity that pertains even now.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 20, 2020
Many of the most convincing lies come smothered in a sauce of verity.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 20, 2018
A society reluctant to accept this verity stagnates and, over the decades, consumes its substance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2016
We can establish ‘the verity of the fact’, he says, without having knowledge of the cause.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
It is one of baseball’s eternal verities that wins and losses in spring training do not matter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
They will almost assuredly will be captive of warmed-over doctrinal verities, underwritten by arrogant conviction.
From Salon ● Nov. 24, 2024
When they have picked themselves up from their humiliation, the French will need to gather their sangfroid and confront some cruel verities.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2021
Myth, magic and superstition are inextricably intertwined with everyday verities, a technique that caused Ms. Morrison’s novels to be likened often to those of Latin American magic realist writers like Gabriel García Márquez.
From New York Times ● Aug. 6, 2019
I have wondered why it is that some people are less affected and torn by the verities of life and death than others.
From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck
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.
