falsify

[ fawl-suh-fahy ]

verb (used with object)

, fal·si·fied, fal·si·fy·ing.

1. to make false or incorrect, especially so as to deceive:

   to falsify income-tax reports.

2. to alter fraudulently.
3. to represent falsely:

   He falsified the history of his family to conceal his humble origins.

4. to show or prove to be false; disprove:

   to falsify a theory.

   Synonyms: controvert, confute, refute, discredit, rebut

verb (used without object)

, fal·si·fied, fal·si·fy·ing.

1. to make false statements.

falsify

/ ˈfɔːlsɪˌfaɪ; ˌfɔːlsɪfɪˈkeɪʃən /

verb

1. to make (a report, evidence, accounts, etc) false or inaccurate by alteration, esp in order to deceive
2. to prove false; disprove

Derived Forms

• falsification, noun
• ˈfalsiˌfier, noun
• ˈfalsiˌfiable, adjective

Other Words From

• fal·si·fi·a·ble [fawl-s, uh, -, fahy, -, uh, -b, uh, l] adjective
• fal·si·fi·ca·tion [fawl-s, uh, -fi-, key, -sh, uh, n], noun
• fal·si·fi·er noun
• un·fal·si·fied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of falsify¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English falsifien, from Middle French falsifier, from Late Latin falsificāre; false, -ify

Word History and Origins

Origin of falsify¹

C15: from Old French falsifier , from Late Latin falsificāre , from Latin falsus false + facere to make

Synonym Study

See misrepresent.

Example Sentences

Trump instructed his fixer Michael Cohen to falsify business documents to cover up payments he made to Daniels for sexual encounters.

From Salon

The last time Trump tried to silence Daniels he was charged with directing his then-fixer, Michael Cohen, to falsify business documents to cover up his payments, which were made to cover up a sexual encounter he had with the actress soon after his wife Melania had given birth.

From Salon

Multiple owners of private testing labs claimed they were being pushed out of business by competitors willing to falsify testing results.

From Los Angeles Times

If so, this doesn’t falsify my point about leaders and interests; Putin could have calculated that it was in his interest to wait for Trump’s return to power because Trump—who has said he wants to restore good relations with Russia—would view the release as a favor and treat Moscow accordingly.

From Slate

To convict Trump, jurors had to find that not only did he falsify business records, but that he did so to commit or conceal another crime.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• contradict
• contravene
• counterfeit
• deceive
• distort
• exaggerate
• fake
• forge
• misstate
• pervert
• tamper with