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Webster 1913 Edition

Truth

Truth

,
Noun.
;
pl.
Truths
(#)
.
[OE.
treuthe
,
trouthe
,
treowpe
, AS.
treów[GREEK]
. See
True
; cf.
Troth
,
Betroth
.]
1.
The quality or being true; as: –
(a)
Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been; or shall be.
(b)
Conformity to rule; exactness; close correspondence with an example, mood, object of imitation, or the like.
Plows, to go true, depend much on the
truth
of the ironwork.
Mortimer.
(c)
Fidelity; constancy; steadfastness; faithfulness.
Alas! they had been friends in youth,
But whispering tongues can poison
truth
.
Coleridge.
(d)
The practice of speaking what is true; freedom from falsehood; veracity.
If this will not suffice, it must appear
That malice bears down
truth
.
Shakespeare
2.
That which is true or certain concerning any matter or subject, or generally on all subjects; real state of things; fact; verity; reality.
Speak ye every man the truth to his neighbor.
Zech. viii. 16.
I long to know the
truth
here of at large.
Shakespeare
The
truth
depends on, or is only arrived at by, a legitimate deduction from all the facts which are truly material.
Coleridge.
3.
A true thing; a verified fact; a true statement or proposition; an established principle, fixed law, or the like;
as, the great
truths
of morals
.
Even so our boasting . . . is found a
truth
.
2 Cor. vii. 14.
4.
Righteousness; true religion.
Grace and
truth
came by Jesus Christ.
John i. 17.
Sanctify them through thy
truth
; thy word is
truth
.
John xvii. 17.
In truth
,
in reality; in fact.
–
Of a truth
,
in reality; certainly.
–
To do truth
,
to practice what God commands.
He that
doeth truth
cometh to the light.
John iii. 21.

Truth

,
Verb.
T.
To assert as true; to declare.
[R.]
Had they [the ancients] dreamt this, they would have
truthed
it heaven.
Ford.

Webster 1828 Edition

Truth

TRUTH

, n.
1.
Conformity to fact or reality; exact accordance with that which is, or has been, or shall be. The truth of history constitutes its whole value. We rely on the truth of the scriptural prophecies.
My mouth shall speak truth. Prov.8.
Sanctify them through thy truth; thy word is truth. John. 17.
2.
True state of facts or things. The duty of a court of justice is to discover the truth. Witnesses are sworn to declare the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
3.
Conformity of words to thoughts, which is called moral truth.
Shall truth fail to keep her word?
4.
Veracity; purity from falsehood; practice of speaking truth; habitual disposition to speak truth; as when we say, a man is a man of truth.
5.
Correct opinion.
6.
Fidelity; constancy.
The thoughts of past pleasure and truth.
7.
Honesty; virtue.
It must appear
That malice bears down truth.
8.
Exactness; conformity to rule.
Plows, to go true, depend much on the truth of the iron work. [Not in use.]
9.
Real fact of just principle; real state of things. There are innumerable truths with which we are not acquainted.
10. Sincerity.
God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4.
11. The truth of God, is his veracity and faithfulness. Ps.71.
Or his revealed will.
I have walked in thy truth. Ps.26.
12. Jesus Christ is called the truth. John 14.
13. It is sometimes used by way of concession.
She said, truth, Lord; yet the dogs eat of the crums-- Matt 15.
That is, it is a truth; what you have said, I admit to be true.
In truth, in reality; in fact.
Of a truth, in reality; certainly.
To do truth, is to practice what God commands. John 3.

Definition 2024

truth

truth

English

Alternative forms

  • trewth (obsolete)
  • Truth (sometimes when referring to religious truth)

Noun

truth ‎(usually uncountable, plural truths)

  1. The state or quality of being true to someone or something.
    Truth to one's own feelings is all-important in life.‎
  2. (archaic) Faithfulness, fidelity.
    • Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
      Alas! they had been friends in youth, / But whispering tongues can poison truth.
  3. (obsolete) A pledge of loyalty or faith.
  4. True facts, genuine depiction or statements of reality.
    The truth is that our leaders knew a lot more than they were letting on.‎
    • Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
      The truth depends on, or is only arrived at by, a legitimate deduction from all the facts which are truly material.
    • 2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892:
      The truth is that [Isaac] Newton was very much a product of his time. The colossus of science was not the first king of reason, Keynes wrote after reading Newton’s unpublished manuscripts. Instead “he was the last of the magicians”.
  5. Conformity to fact or reality; correctness, accuracy.
    There was some truth in his statement that he had no other choice.‎
    • 2012 January 1, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 31:
      As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds.
  6. Conformity to rule; exactness; close correspondence with an example, mood, model, etc.
  7. That which is real, in a deeper sense; spiritual or ‘genuine’ reality.
    The truth is what is.‎
    Alcoholism and redemption led me finally to truth.‎
  8. (countable) Something acknowledged to be true; a true statement or axiom.
    Hunger and jealousy are just eternal truths of human existence.‎
    • 1813, Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice
      It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
  9. (physics, dated) Topness. (See also truth quark.)

Synonyms

  • See Wikisaurus:truth

Antonyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Related terms

Translations

Verb

truth ‎(third-person singular simple present truths, present participle truthing, simple past and past participle truthed)

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To assert as true; to declare; to speak truthfully.
    Had they [the ancients] dreamt this, they would have truthed it heaven. — Ford.
  2. To make exact; to correct for inaccuracy.
    ground truth
  3. (nonstandard, intransitive) To tell the truth.
    1966, You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin' — Nancy Sinatra, "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'"

See also

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: around · black · lady · #414: truth · turn · hold · cause

Etymology

From Middle English truthe, trewthe, treowthe, from Old English trēowþ, trīewþ ‎(“truth, veracity, faith, fidelity, loyalty, honour, pledge, covenant”), from Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō ‎(“promise, covenant, contract”), from Proto-Indo-European *drū- ‎(“tree”), from Proto-Indo-European *deru- ‎(“firm, solid”), equivalent to true +‎ -th. Cognate with Norwegian trygd ‎(“trustworthiness, security, insurance”), Icelandic tryggð ‎(“loyalty, fidelity”).

Pronunciation

  • enPR: trōōth, IPA(key): /tɹuːθ/
  • Rhymes: -uːθ

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