English
Noun
ring of truth (uncountable)
- The trust-inspiring sound, tenor, or impression of being truthful.
- 1874, Edward Payson Roe, Opening a Chestnut Burr, ch. 20,
- I am too well accustomed to the taking of evidence not to detect the ring of truth.
- 1908, Edith Wharton, "The Pretext,"
- She could hear the ring of truth in young Dawnish's voice.
- 2006, "Verbatim," Time, 20 Feb.,
- It is fiction. But it has the absolute ring of truth.
Usage notes
- Sometimes used (especially in the 19th and early-20th centuries) with reference to oral remarks or a manner of speaking, and sometimes used (especially since the mid-20th century) to refer to a written statement or narrative which strikes the reader as true.
Synonyms