1 falsehood | Definition of falsehood

falsehood

noun
false·​hood | \ ˈfȯls-ËŒhu̇d How to pronounce falsehood (audio) \

Definition of falsehood

1 : an untrue statement : lie
2 : absence of truth or accuracy
3 : the practice of lying : mendacity

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Examples of falsehood in a Sentence

the line between truth and falsehood the possibility of a perpetual motion machine is one falsehood that has been disproved by modern physics

Recent Examples on the Web

This was to be the only verifiable falsehood of the whole day. Belinda Luscombe, Time, "Former U.N. Ambassador Samantha Power Has a Lot of Stories to Tell—and No Problem Talking," 5 Sep. 2019 Of all the falsehoods floating around Monterey, this one is positioned as the most egregious, but the biggest lie Big Little Lies tells is that Bonnie is just like every other one of her partners in crime. Kathleen Newman-bremang, refinery29.com, "How Big Little Lies Did Bonnie A Major Disservice By Ignoring Her Race," 23 July 2019 Among the falsehoods: that the bedbug problem is getting better. Susan Glaser, cleveland.com, "‘Is this a bedbug?’ What to do when your child texts you from France with an entomology question," 14 July 2019 Church officials have mounted an aggressive and public defense of their leader, calling the allegations falsehoods. Julia Wick, latimes.com, "Essential California: Facebook’s coming cryptocurrency and a Slack IPO in the week ahead," 17 June 2019 Celeste, in her interrogation, is weaponizing the truth about trauma to tell—to sell—a falsehood. Megan Garber, The Atlantic, "Big Little Lies Forgot the Thing That Made It Great," 16 July 2019 The claim that Obama was not born in the U.S., a falsehood that Trump admitted in 2016, was a lie that the president continued to tout for years, both at numerous public appearances and on television. Jess Mchugh, Fortune, "Confused About Trump’s Racially Charged Twitter Rant? Look to the Birther Movement," 15 July 2019 But recent history suggests that popular falsehoods about Facebook are nearly impossible to kill. Casey Newton, The Verge, "A conservative audit of Facebook’s speech policies is running behind schedule," 3 July 2019 The gaming industry deserves the right to defend itself against out-of-touch politicians trotting out obvious falsehoods, but some inner reflection is also long overdue. Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, "Column: The Player: Yes, Trump is wrong to blame video games for mass shootings, but it’s complicated," 8 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'falsehood.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of falsehood

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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More Definitions for falsehood

falsehood

noun

English Language Learners Definition of falsehood

: an untrue statement
: the quality of not being true or accurate : false quality

falsehood

noun
false·​hood | \ ˈfȯls-ËŒhu̇d How to pronounce falsehood (audio) \

Kids Definition of falsehood

2 : the habit of lying His falsehood ruined our friendship.

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