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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

untruth en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • /ʌnˈtɹuːθ/
  • (Southern-England) audio
  • ŭn-trōōth′

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English untreuth, from Old English untrēowþ and unġetrēowþ, from Proto-West Germanic *untriuwiþu and *ungatriuwiþu, equivalent to un- + truth. Cognate with Old High German ungitriuwida.

Meanings

  1. (countable, uncountable) A lie or falsehood.
    • It may tell you that the official currency of Switzerland is the euro (it’s actually the Swiss franc) or that Mark Twain’s Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County could not only jump but talk. A.I. researchers call this generation of untruths “hallucination.” 2023 January 10, Cade Metz, “A.I. Is Becoming More Conversational. But Will It Get More Honest?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 14 Mar 2023:
    • He added: "We've always had spin, especially from Government. But this is not spin. This is dishonesty and so it's our rail media's urgent responsibility to call it out because non-specialist journalists across the country will report this and gradually these untruths will be accepted. 2022 January 26, Paul Stephen, “Network News: Government's IRP claims condemned as "dishonest"”, in RAIL, number 949, page 7:
    • Herald The prince was swept from the sight of the Achaean host—himself, and his ship likewise. ’Tis no untruth I tell. 1926, Herbert Weir Smyth, “Agamemnon”, in Aeschylus, with an English translation, volume II, page 55:
  2. (countable, uncountable) The condition of being false; truthlessness.

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
untruths Number=Plur lexicographic

Deriveds

untruther

Synonyms

falsehood

Translations (32)

txb waike (lie or falsehood) · bg лъжа (lie or falsehood) · it falsità (lie or falsehood) · da usandhed (lie or falsehood) · ru непра́вда (lie or falsehood) · bg неистина (lie or falsehood) · hu hazugság (lie or falsehood) · pdt Lieej (lie or falsehood) · hu valótlanság (lie or falsehood) · it bugia (lie or falsehood) · fi valhe (lie or falsehood) · fr contrevérité (lie or falsehood) · de Unwahrheit (lie or falsehood) · fi epätotuus (the condition of being false) · pt inverdade (lie or falsehood) · ga ainfhírinne (lie or falsehood) · cy anwiredd (lie or falsehood) · nb usannhet (lie or falsehood) · grc ψεῦδος (lie or falsehood) · cs nepravda (lie or falsehood) · bg погрешност (the condition of being false) · sv osanning (lie or falsehood) · ki iheeni (lie or falsehood) · ga ainbhfíor (lie or falsehood) · sa मिथ्या (lie or falsehood) · fr menterie (lie or falsehood) · sa असत्य (lie or falsehood) · sh netačnost (lie or falsehood) · pdt Onwoarheit (lie or falsehood) · sh neistina (lie or falsehood) · fr mensonge (lie or falsehood) · te అసత్యము (lie or falsehood)