falsehood

[ fawls-hood ]

noun

1. a false statement; lie.

   Synonyms: falsification, story, fiction, invention, canard, prevarication, fabrication

2. something false; an untrue idea, belief, etc.:

   The Nazis propagated the falsehood of racial superiority.

3. the act of lying or making false statements.
4. lack of conformity to truth or fact.

   Synonyms: untruthfulness, mendacity, inveracity

5. Obsolete. deception.

falsehood

/ ˈfɔːlsˌhʊd /

noun

1. the quality of being untrue
2. an untrue statement; lie
3. the act of deceiving or lying

Word History and Origins

Origin of falsehood¹

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English falsehead, falshede; false, -hood

Synonym Study

Falsehood, fib, lie, untruth refer to something untrue or incorrect. A falsehood is a statement that distorts or suppresses the truth, in order to deceive: to tell a falsehood about one's ancestry in order to gain acceptance. A fib denotes a trivial falsehood, and is often used to characterize that which is not strictly true: a polite fib. A lie is a vicious falsehood: to tell a lie about one's neighbor. An untruth is an incorrect statement, either intentionally misleading (less harsh, however, than falsehood or lie) or arising from misunderstanding or ignorance: I'm afraid you are telling an untruth.

Example Sentences

While I think they’d still be able to convince a jury that the statements were defamatory and harmful, their actual damages might be less just because the effect of their reputation based on Trump’s falsehood might not be that great.

From Slate

At a town hall with undecided Latino voters hosted by Univision on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump, facing tough questions over his words and deeds, continued to maintain that he had never uttered a falsehood or done anything wrong.

From Salon

The problem with Trump’s lies isn’t their number or even what he lies about; fact-checking helps, as does evidence of their falsehood.

From Salon

Trump was so furious at having his falsehood corrected that he literally drew over a storm map, in hopes of tricking people into thinking Alabama was in danger.

From Salon

It would be called a “distortion” or even a “falsehood,” but never a lie.

From Salon

Related Words

• cover-up
• deceit
• deception
• dishonesty
• distortion
• fabrication
• fakery
• fallacy
• falsity
• misstatement
• perjury
• prevarication
• sham
• tall tale
• untruth