adjective
-
(intensifier; usually qualifying a word used metaphorically)
he's a veritable swine!
-
rare genuine or true; proper
I require veritable proof
Related Words
See authentic.
Other Word Forms
- nonveritable adjective
- nonveritableness noun
- nonveritably adverb
- unveritable adjective
- unveritableness noun
- unveritably adverb
- veritableness noun
- veritably adverb
Etymology
Origin of veritable
1425–75; late Middle English < Anglo-French, Middle French. See verity, -able
Explanation
When something is veritable it is true, or at least feels that way. "The trees and lights turned the campus into a veritable wonderland" means that the campus seemed to be transformed into a true wonderland (if there is such a thing). Veritable comes from the Latin veritas which means true. But unlike true, it does not describe things like statements. It is often used to enhance the word that follows it. "A veritable cornucopia of food" is a lot of food of different varieties. If someone calls you "a veritable force of nature," they don't mean that you are actually a hurricane; they just mean that you have the unstoppable quality of a big old storm.
Vocabulary lists containing veritable
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
I rented the largest unit available—10 feet by 30 feet, a veritable mansion of a storage space—and had the entire contents of my house transported there.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
At the time, Ortiz sported a veritable headdress of 1980s rock ’n’ roll hair.
From Slate • Apr. 6, 2026
The speakers’ lineup in Tulsa will reportedly include Flynn, Clark, Eric Trump, Jackson Lahmeyer and his wife Kendra, and a veritable apostolic Lollapalooza of NAR-friendly preachers.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
These digital assets contribute to a veritable "shadow banking", Craig Timm of the anti-money laundering organisation ACAMS, told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
A shearing had brought a veritable mountain of gray wool to be washed and bleached and dyed, enough to keep Mercy carding and spinning and weaving for the next twelve months.
From "The Witch of Blackbird Pond" by Elizabeth George Speare
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
