untruth

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ʌnˈtruθ/ UK /ʌnˈtruːθ/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a statement that is not true; a lie or falsehood

She could not bring herself to utter an untruth, even a harmless one.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a statement that is not... lie falsehood fabrication fiction fib falsity invention

Opposites

truth fact verity

Word family

Derived forms untruthfuluntruthfully

Related forms truth true

Etymology

From un- ('not') plus truth, from Old English trēowþ ('faithfulness, fidelity'), from trēowe ('faithful, true').

un- Old English trēowþ Old English

View etymology graph ->

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# untruth

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ʌnˈtruθ/
**IPA (UK):** /ʌnˈtruːθ/

## Meanings
1. a statement that is not true; a lie or falsehood

## Examples
- She could not bring herself to utter an untruth, even a harmless one.

## Synonyms
- lie
- falsehood
- fabrication
- fiction
- fib
- falsity
- invention

## Antonyms
- truth
- fact
- verity

## Derived Forms
- untruthful
- untruthfully

## Related Forms
- truth
- true

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: un-
- Root: trēowþ

## Etymology
From un- ('not') plus truth, from Old English trēowþ ('faithfulness, fidelity'), from trēowe ('faithful, true').

## AI Etymology
Untruth comes from un- ('not') plus truth, from Old English trēowþ ('faithfulness, fidelity'), from trēowe ('faithful, true'). In current use it is a noun meaning "a statement that is not true; a lie or falsehood". That sense is explained by the older material without requiring a speculative semantic step: the inherited or borrowed base supplies the field of meaning, while the English formation fixes its modern role. The prefix un- is negative or privative, marking the absence, denial, or opposite of the base idea. The surface form is compositional: its joined elements remain visible in the modern word. The historical chain includes Old English un- and Old English trēowþ. Related English forms include truth and true. Derived forms include untruthful and untruthfully. As a result, the modern word is best read as a negative, privative, or reversative formation built on a historically older base.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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untruth

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