Meaning & use
truthteller
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableapproving
A person who speaks honestly and openly, even when the facts are unwelcome or embarrassing.
Grammar: Refers to a person: she was the only truthteller in the room.
Patterns
- a truthteller about something
- the truthteller in a group
The young reporter became a truthteller about the company's safety failures.
In every family there is one truthteller who says what others avoid.
History remembers him as a stubborn truthteller.
nouncountablerare
A person or device used to find out whether others are lying.
Grammar: Less common sense; it appears mostly in fiction or fantasy.
In the story, the king kept a truthteller beside him to catch false claims.
The old mirror served as a truthteller and showed what was hidden.
The detective acted as a truthteller during the interviews.
Word forms
| plural | truthtellers |
|---|
Common combinations
- a brave truthteller
- Society needs a brave truthteller when facts are hidden.
- fearless truthteller
- The columnist was a fearless truthteller.
- lone truthteller
- A lone truthteller can change public opinion.
- truthteller about something
- He remained a truthteller about the war.
- honest truthteller
- An honest truthteller does not flatter.
Synonyms and how they differ
- whistleblower
- A whistleblower exposes wrongdoing inside an organization, while a truthteller can simply be frank in any setting.
- straight talker
- Straight talker is informal and about style of speech, while truthteller carries a stronger moral weight.
- candid person
- Candid person describes a trait only, while truthteller names someone who acts on it.
- honest broker
- Honest broker is a neutral go-between, which is different from someone delivering hard facts.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: truthteller or fortune teller?
truthteller vs fortune teller
A fortune teller claims to predict the future, while a truthteller simply reports facts honestly.
Practice
The staff trusted Maria because she was a ___ who would say plainly when a project was failing.
Choose one answer.
A truthteller speaks honestly even when it is unpleasant. A flatterer would do the opposite, and a gossip spreads rumors.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “truthteller”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.