Meaning & use
truth
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Meanings
noununcountable
What is real and correct, as opposed to what is false or made up.
Grammar: Usually with the: tell the truth.
Patterns
- the truth about something
- tell the truth
Please tell me the truth about what happened.
The truth is that I forgot.
There is some truth in what she says.
nouncountable
A fact or belief that is accepted as true.
Grammar: Countable: universal truths.
Patterns
- a truth about something
Scientists search for basic truths about nature.
It is a hard truth that many people never learn.
The book explores the universal truths of family life.
noununcountable
The quality of being honest or accurate.
Grammar: No plural: the truth of a claim.
Patterns
- the truth of something
Nobody doubted the truth of her story.
The judge tested the truth of the claim.
There is little truth in these reports.
Word forms
| plural | truths |
|---|
Common combinations
- tell the truth
- Always tell the truth in court.
- the whole truth
- I want the whole truth, not half of it.
- in truth
- In truth, I was nervous.
- the honest truth
- The honest truth is I didn't like it.
- hard truth
- It's a hard truth to accept.
- to tell the truth
- To tell the truth, I forgot your birthday.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fact
- A specific thing known to be true, while truth is more general.
- reality
- Means how things actually are, not what is said.
- honesty
- Describes a person's quality, not a fact.
- accuracy
- Describes how closely something matches facts.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: truth or true?
truth vs true
True is the adjective; truth is the noun.
Practice
The witness promised to tell the ___, the whole truth.
Choose one answer.
The set phrase needs a noun after the, so truth. True is an adjective, truly an adverb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “truth”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.