Dictionary

truth be told en · INTJ

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio

Etymology

Ellipsis of if the truth should be told.

Meanings

1. (idiomatic) Used when admitting something one might otherwise lie about, e.g. to keep up appearances or be polite.
   • I'm not sure if I can do this, truth be told.
   • Well, certainly there are those who are more responsible than others - and they will be held accountable - but again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. 2006, V For Vendetta (movie adaptation)
   • When I opened my laptop on Tuesday to take my first run at GPT-4, the new artificial intelligence language model from OpenAI, I was, truth be told, a little nervous. 2023 March 15, Kevin Roose, “GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary”, in The New York Times:
   • Actually, truth be told, I just don't like you.

Forms

Synonyms

truth to tell · to tell the truth · admittedly · frankly · to be honest

Translations (27)

tr doğrusunu söylemek gerekirse (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · pt para ser sincero (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · fi rehellisesti sanottuna (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · fi totta puhuakseni (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · de um ehrlich zu sein (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · pl prawdę mówiąc (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · pt verdade seja dita (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · nl eerlijk gezegd (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · sk pravdu povediac (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · pt para falar a verdade (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · fi totta puhuen (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · de in Wahrheit (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · sv om sanningen ska fram (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · uk пра́вду ка́жучи (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · it a onor del vero (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · es la verdad sea dicha (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · cs popravdě řečeno (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · or ସତ କହିବାକୁ ଗଲେ (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · es a decir verdad (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · it a dire il vero (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · de ehrlich gesagt (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · fi toden sanoakseni (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · hu az igazat megvallva (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · ru е́сли че́стно (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · fr pour être honnête (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · ru что греха́ таи́ть (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about) · ro adevărul fie spus (when admitting something one might otherwise lie about)