truth

(tro͞oth)

n. pl. truths (tro͞othz, tro͞oths)

a. Conformity to fact or actuality: Does this story have any truth?

b. Reality; actuality: In truth, he was not qualified for the job.

c. The reality of a situation: The truth is, she respects your work.

a. A statement proven to be or accepted as true: truths about nature.

b. Such statements considered as a group: researchers in pursuit of truth.

3. Sincerity; integrity: the truth of his intentions.

4. Fidelity to an original or standard: the truth of the copy.

a. Theology & Philosophy That which is considered to be the ultimate ground of reality.

b. Logic The positive (true) truth-value.

[Middle English trewthe, loyalty, from Old English trēowth; see deru- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.]

Synonyms: truth, veracity, verity, verisimilitude
These nouns refer to the quality of being in accord with fact or reality. Truth is a comprehensive term that in all of its nuances implies accuracy and honesty: "We seek the truth, and will endure the consequences" (Charles Seymour).
Veracity is adherence to the truth: "Veracity is the heart of morality" (Thomas H. Huxley).
Verity often applies to an enduring or repeatedly demonstrated truth: "beliefs that were accepted as eternal verities" (James Harvey Robinson).
Verisimilitude is the quality of having the appearance of truth or reality: "merely corroborative detail, intended to give artistic verisimilitude to an otherwise bald and unconvincing narrative" (W.S. Gilbert).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

truth

(truːθ)

1. the quality of being true, genuine, actual, or factual: the truth of his statement was attested.

2. something that is true as opposed to false: you did not tell me the truth.

3. a proven or verified principle or statement; fact: the truths of astronomy.

4. (usually plural) a system of concepts purporting to represent some aspect of the world: the truths of ancient religions.

5. fidelity to a required standard or law

6. faithful reproduction or portrayal: the truth of a portrait.

7. an obvious fact; truism; platitude

8. honesty, reliability, or veracity: the truth of her nature.

9. accuracy, as in the setting, adjustment, or position of something, such as a mechanical instrument

10. the state or quality of being faithful; allegiance

[Old English triewth; related to Old High German gitriuwida fidelity, Old Norse tryggr true]

ˈtruthless adj

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

truth

(truθ)

n., pl. truths (tro̅o̅tz, tro̅o̅ths).

1. the true or actual state of a matter: to tell the truth.

2. conformity with fact or reality; verity: to check the truth of a statement.

3. a verified or indisputable fact, proposition, principle, or the like: mathematical truths.

4. the state or character of being true.

5. actuality or actual existence.

6. an obvious or accepted fact; truism; platitude.

7. honesty; integrity; truthfulness.

8. (often cap.) ideal or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perceived experience.

9. agreement with a standard or original.

10. accuracy, as of position or adjustment.

11. Archaic. fidelity or constancy.

Idioms:

in truth, in reality; in fact; actually.

[before 900; Middle English treuthe, Old English trēowth. See true, -th¹]

truth′less, adj.

Truth

(truθ)

n.

Sojourner (Isabella Van Wagener), 1797?–1883, U.S. abolitionist and women's-rights advocate, born a slave.

Truth

See Also: CANDOR, HONESTY

All the durable truths that have come into the world within historic times have been opposed as bitterly as if they were so many waves of smallpox —H. L. Mencken
As with the pursuit of happiness, the pursuit of truth is itself gratifying whereas the consummation often turns out to be elusive —Richard Hofstadter
Honest as the skin between his brows —William Shakespeare
Plain truths, like plain dishes, are commended by everybody, and everybody leaves them whole —Walter Savage Landor
Pure truth, like pure gold, has been found unfit for circulation, because men have discovered that it is far more convenient to adulterate the truth than to refine themselves —Charles Caleb Colton
Random truths are all I find stuck like burrs about my mind —Phyllis McGinley
Rich honesty dwells like a miser … in a poor house; as your pearl in your foul oyster —William Shakespeare
Speaking the truth is like writing well, and only comes with practice —John Ruskin
This has been modernized from “The truth is like writing”
Truth … drag it out and beat it like a carpet —Hortense Calisher
Truth is a cow which will yield such people no more milk, and so they are gone to milk the bull —Samuel Johnson
Truth is as difficult to lay hold on as air —Walter Savage Landor
See Also: ELUSIVENESS
Truth is as old as God —Emily Dickinson
The truth is cold, as a giant’s knee will seem cold —John Ashbery
Truth is impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as the sunbeam —John Milton
Truth … is not a thing to be thrown about loosely, like small change; it is something to be cherished and hoarded and disbursed only when absolutely necessary —H. L. Mencken
The truth is tough. It will not break, like a bubble, at a touch … you may kick it about all day, like a football, and it will be round and full at evening —Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
The truth kept wandering in and out of her mind like a lost child, never pausing long enough to be identified —Margaret Millar
Truth, like a bird, is ever poised for flight at man’s approach —Jean Brown
Truth, like a gentle shower, soaks through the ears and moistens the intellect —Anon
Truth, like a point or line, requires an acuteness and intention to its discovery —Joseph Glanville
Truth, like a suit of armor, stubbornly resists all attempts to penetrate it —Robert Traver
In his novel, People Versus Kirk, Traver continues the simile with “… while the lie, under probing, almost invariably reveals some chinks and cracks.”
Truth is like a torch, the more it is shook, the more it shines —Sir William Hamilton
Modernized from “The more ’tis shook, it shines.”
Truth, like gold, is not less so for being newly brought out of the mine —John Locke
Truth, like light, blinds —Albert Camus
Camus prefaces his simile from The Fall as follows: “Sometimes it is easier to see clearly into the liar than into the man who tells the truth.”
Truth, like the juice of the poppy, in small quantities, calms men; in larger, heats and irritates them, and is attended by fatal consequences in its excess —Walter Savage Landor
Truth’s like a fire, and will burn through and be seen —Maxwell Anderson
A truth’s prosperity is like a jest’s; it lies in the ear of him that hears it —Samuel Butler
The way of truth is like a great highway. It is not hard to find —Mencius

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	truth - a fact that has been verified; "at last he knew the truth"; "the truth is that he didn't want to do it" fact - a piece of information about circumstances that exist or events that have occurred; "first you must collect all the facts of the case" home truth - an important truth that is unpleasant to acknowledge (as about yourself) verity - an enduring or necessary ethical or religious or aesthetic truth
	2.	truth - conformity to reality or actuality; "they debated the truth of the proposition"; "the situation brought home to us the blunt truth of the military threat"; "he was famous for the truth of his portraits"; "he turned to religion in his search for eternal verities" the true, trueness, verity actuality - the state of actually existing objectively; "a hope that progressed from possibility to actuality" falseness, falsity - the state of being false or untrue; "argument could not determine its truth or falsity"
	3.	truth - a true statement; "he told the truth"; "he thought of answering with the truth but he knew they wouldn't believe it" true statement statement - a message that is stated or declared; a communication (oral or written) setting forth particulars or facts etc; "according to his statement he was in London on that day" gospel truth, gospel - an unquestionable truth; "his word was gospel" tautology - (logic) a statement that is necessarily true; "the statement `he is brave or he is not brave' is a tautology" truism - an obvious truth falsehood, untruth, falsity - a false statement
	4.	truth - the quality of being near to the true value; "he was beginning to doubt the accuracy of his compass"; "the lawyer questioned the truth of my account" accuracy quality - an essential and distinguishing attribute of something or someone; "the quality of mercy is not strained"--Shakespeare exactitude, exactness - the quality of being exact; "he demanded exactness in all details"; "a man of great exactitude" fidelity - accuracy with which an electronic system reproduces the sound or image of its input signal
	5.	Truth - United States abolitionist and feminist who was freed from slavery and became a leading advocate of the abolition of slavery and for the rights of women (1797-1883) Sojourner Truth

truth

noun

1. reality, fact(s), real life, actuality Is it possible to separate truth from fiction?
reality unreality, lie, legend, fiction, myth, invention, delusion, fabrication, make-believe, falsehood, untruth, old wives' tale

2. truthfulness, fact, accuracy, honesty, precision, validity, legitimacy, authenticity, correctness, sincerity, verity, candour, veracity, rightness, genuineness, exactness, factuality, factualness There is no truth in this story.
truthfulness error, inaccuracy, falsity

3. fact, law, reality, certainty, maxim, verity, axiom, truism, proven principle It's a universal truth that we all die eventually.

4. the fact of the matter, what really happened, gospel truth, God's truth, the honest truth, the case I must tell you the truth about this.

5. honesty, principle, honour, virtue, integrity, goodness, righteousness, candour, frankness, probity, rectitude, incorruptibility, uprightness His mission is to uphold truth, justice and the American way.
honesty deception, deceit, dishonesty

in truth actually, really, in fact, in reality, as a matter of fact, to tell the truth, in actual fact, in point of fact, if truth be told In truth, we were both unhappy.

Related words
adjectives veritable, veracious

Quotations
"Truth sits upon the lips of dying men" [Matthew Arnold Sohrab and Rustum]
"Beauty and Truth, though never found, are worthy to be sought" [Robert Williams Buchanan To David in Heaven]
"`Beauty is truth, truth beauty,' - that is all"
"Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know"
"That is all" [John Keats Ode on a Grecian Urn]
"What is truth? said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer" [Francis Bacon Essays]
"Truth can never be told so as to be understood, and not believed" [William Blake Proverbs of Hell]
"Truth never hurts the teller" [Robert Browning Fifine at the Fair]
"Truth is within ourselves" [Robert Browning Paracelsus]
"'Tis strange - but true; for truth is always strange;"
"Stranger than fiction" [Lord Byron Don Juan]
"I maintain that Truth is a pathless land, and you cannot approach it by any path whatsoever, by any religion, by any sect" [Jiddu Krishnamurti speech]
"It is the customary fate of new truths to begin as heresies and to end as superstitions" [T.H. Huxley Science and Culture]
"The first casualty when war comes is truth" [Philander Chase Johnson Shooting Stars]
"There was things that he stretched, but mainly he told the truth" [Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn]
"The truth is rarely pure, and never simple" [Oscar Wilde The Importance of Being Earnest]
"The truth is a terrible weapon of aggression. It is possible to lie, and even to murder, for the truth" [Alfred Adler The Problem of Neurosis]
"The truth which makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear" [Herbert Agar A Time for Greatness]
"When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth" [Sir Arthur Conan Doyle The Sign of Four]
"The truth shall make you free" Bible: St. John
"When you want to fool the world, tell the truth" [Otto von Bismarck]
"It is always the best policy to speak the truth, unless of course you are an exceptionally good liar" [Jerome K. Jerome]
"Irrationally held truths may be more harmful than reasoned errors" [T.H. Huxley Science and Culture and Other Essays]
"Truth is the cry of all, but the game of the few" [Bishop George Berkeley Siris]
"Truth lies within a little and certain compass, but error is immense" [Henry St. John, 1st Viscount Bolingbroke Reflections upon Exile]

Proverbs
"There is truth in wine (in vino veritas)"

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

truth

noun

1. Correspondence with fact or truth:

accuracy, correctness, exactitude, exactness, fidelity, veraciousness, veracity, veridicality, verity.

2. Freedom from deceit or falseness:

truthfulness, veracity.

3. The quality of being actual or factual:

actuality, fact, factuality, factualness, reality.

Translations

حَقِيقَةحَقيقَهصِدْق، صِحَّه

pravdapravdivostskutečnost

sandhedsandfærdighed

totuus

istina

sannleikur

verità dire a qualcuno la dura verit...realtà verit...

事実

진실

ištikimybė tiesaipasakyti tiesąsakantis tiesąsakyti tiesą

patiesībataisnība

waarheid werkelijkheid echtheid eerlijkheid oprechtheid

sannhetsanning

prawda

verdade

истина правда верность

resnica

sanning

ความจริง

gerçek gerçeklik hakikat doğruluk

sự thật

真理真相真实性

truth

[truːθ] (truths (pl)) [truːðz]

A. N → verdad f
there is some truth in this → hay una parte de verdad en esto
in truth → en verdad, a la verdad
the plain truth → la pura verdad, la verdad lisa y llana
the whole truth → toda la verdad
to tell the truth → decir la verdad
to tell (you) the truth; truth to tell → a decir verdad
the truth of the matter is that → si te digo la verdad or la verdad es que ...
the truth hurts → las verdades duelen
truth will out → no hay mentira que no salga
truth is stranger than fiction → la realidad sobrepasa a la ficción
see also home

B. CPD truth drug N → suero m de la verdad

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

truth

[ˈtruːθ] [truths] [ˈtruːðz] (pl) n

(= real facts) → vérité f
I want you to tell me the truth → Je veux que tu me dises la vérité.
No one knows the whole truth → Personne ne connaît toute la vérité.
to tell you the truth (= to be honest) → à vrai dire

(= truthfulness) → vérité f
There is an element of truth in it → Il y a une part de vérité là-dedans.
There is no truth in the story → Il n'y a rien de vrai dans l'histoire.

(= something believed to be true) → vérité f
universal truths → vérités universelles

truth

n pl <-s>

no pl → Wahrheit f; you must always tell the truth → du musst immer die Wahrheit sagen; to tell the truth …, truth to tell … → um ehrlich zu sein …, um die Wahrheit zu sagen …; the truth of it or the matter is that … → die Wahrheit ist dass …, in Wahrheit …; there’s no truth or or not a word of truth in what he says → es ist kein Wort wahr von dem, was er sagt; there’s some truth in that → es ist etwas Wahres daran, da ist etwas Wahres dran (inf); the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth (Jur) → die Wahrheit, die reine Wahrheit und nichts als die Wahrheit; in truth → in Wahrheit, in Wirklichkeit; truth will out (prov) → die Wahrheit wird ans Licht kommen, die Sonne wird es an den Tag bringen (prov)

(= belief, fact) → Wahrheit f ? home truth

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

truth

[truːθ] n → verità f inv
to tell the truth → dire la verità
to tell (you) the truth, truth to tell → a dire il vero or la verità
the truth of the matter is that ... → la verità è che...
the truth hurts → la verità fa male
there is some truth in what he says → c'è del vero in ciò che dice
there isn't a word of truth in it → non c'è nulla di vero
truth will out → la verità viene sempre a galla

truth

(truːθ) – plural truths (truːθz truːθs) – noun

1. trueness; the state of being true. I am certain of the truth of his story; `What is truth?' asked the philosopher.

2. the true facts. I don't know, and that's the truth; Tell the truth about it.

ˈtruthful adjective

(negative untruthful).

1. (of a person) telling the truth. She's a truthful child.

2. true. a truthful account of what happened.

ˈtruthfully adverb

ˈtruthfulness noun

tell the truth

to confess or make a true statement.

to tell the truth

really; actually. To tell the truth I forgot it was your birthday last week.

truth

→ حَقِيقَة pravda sandhed Wahrheit αλήθεια verdad totuus vérité istina verità 事実 진실 waarheid sannhet prawda verdade истина sanning ความจริง gerçek sự thật 真理

truth

n. verdad; realidad;

___ serum → suero de la ___.