false

adjective

ˈfȯls How to pronounce false (audio)
Definition of falsenext
1
as in erroneous
not being in agreement with what is true early reports about the explosion contained much false information

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2
as in faux
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials George Washington's false teeth were not made of wood but of elephant ivory and cow's teeth

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3
as in counterfeit
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud arrested for selling false ID cards to teenagers

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4
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality so much of the sympathy that the widow received was false and hypocritical, since it came from people who never liked her husband in the first place

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5
as in fraudulent
marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value false advertising that claimed that the vegetables were organically grown when they weren't

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6
as in traitorous
not true in one's allegiance to someone or something false friends who deserted the prizefighter when all his money was gone

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7
as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive it turned out that the con man had made false promises of marriage to a dozen women

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word false different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of false are disloyal, faithless, perfidious, traitorous, and treacherous. While all these words mean "untrue to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance," false stresses the fact of failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery.

betrayed by false friends

When is disloyal a more appropriate choice than false?

Although the words disloyal and false have much in common, disloyal implies a lack of complete faithfulness to a friend, cause, leader, or country.

disloyal to their country

When is it sensible to use faithless instead of false?

The words faithless and false can be used in similar contexts, but faithless applies to any failure to keep a promise or pledge or any breach of allegiance or loyalty.

faithless allies

How are the words perfidious and faithless related as synonyms of false?

Perfidious adds to faithless the implication of an incapacity for fidelity or reliability.

a perfidious double-crosser

Where would traitorous be a reasonable alternative to false?

In some situations, the words traitorous and false are roughly equivalent. However, traitorous implies either actual treason or a serious betrayal of trust.

traitorous acts punishable by death

When can treacherous be used instead of false?

The synonyms treacherous and false are sometimes interchangeable, but treacherous implies readiness to betray trust or confidence.

a treacherous adviser

Examples of false in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Jasmine Crockett Social media’s favorite congresswoman Jasmine Crockett went viral this year after clapping back at Marjorie Taylor Greene, who made fun of her false eyelashes — a racist microaggression — during a House Oversight Committee meeting. —Katherine Singh, refinery29.com, 5 Sep. 2024 Never mind that attacking Harris as the reincarnation of Joseph Stalin in a designer pants suit is laughably false. —Susan B. Glasser, The New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2024 But some experts like Lieb say the intimacy creates a false relationship that leads fans to push past personal boundaries. —Jay Stahl, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2024 According to the sheriff's office, locals have been reporting phone calls from false actors identifying themselves as representatives or officers of various law enforcement agencies. —Erin Couch, The Enquirer, 4 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for false 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'false.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Thesaurus Entries Near false

fall (to)

false

falsehood

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Cite this Entry

“False.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/false. Accessed 18 Sep. 2024.

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