Definition

Noun: 1. The quality of being untrue, incorrect, or not genuine: The state or condition of lacking truth, accuracy, or authenticity. 2. The quality of being deceitful or hypocritical: The characteristic of being insincere, dishonest, or deliberately misleading in one's actions or statements. 3. Unfaithfulness or treachery: The state of being unreliable or disloyal, often involving a betrayal of trust.

Usage and Examples

• Referring to incorrectness or lack of truth:
  • The falseness of the statement was quickly exposed by the evidence.
  • He was troubled by the falseness of the historical account.
• Referring to deceitful character or hypocrisy:
  • She could not tolerate the falseness of his flattery.
  • His smile was full of falseness, hiding his true intentions.
• Referring to unfaithfulness:
  • The falseness of his ally led to the plan's failure.
  • She felt a deep hurt from his falseness.

Advanced Usage

• In philosophical or logical contexts: Used to discuss the property of a proposition being false.
  • The debate centered on the truth or falseness of the basic premise.
• In character assessment: Often used to describe a perceived inauthenticity in a person's demeanor.
  • There was a certain falseness in his cheerful manner that made her suspicious.

Variants and Related Words

• False (adj): Not true or correct; not genuine; intended to deceive.
  • a false accusation
• Falsity (n): Often interchangeable with 'falseness,' particularly for the state of being false or untrue.
  • the falsity of the claim
• Falsify (v): To alter information so as to mislead; to prove something to be false.
  • to falsify records
• Falsification (n): The action of falsifying.
  • data falsification

Synonyms

• Untruthfulness: The quality of not telling the truth.
• Deceitfulness: The action or practice of deceiving someone.
• Duplicity: Double-dealing; deceitfulness.
• Hypocrisy: The practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform.
• Inauthenticity: The quality of not being genuine or real.
• Treachery: Betrayal of trust.

Antonyms

• Truthfulness: The quality of being honest and telling the truth.
• Sincerity: The quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy.
• Genuineness: The quality of being truly what something is said to be; authenticity.
• Fidelity: Faithfulness to a person, cause, or belief, demonstrated by continuing loyalty and support.
• Accuracy: The quality or state of being correct or precise.

Noun

1. the quality of not being open or truthful; deceitful or hypocritical
2. unfaithfulness by virtue of being unreliable or treacherous
3. the state of being false or untrue
   • argument could not determine its truth or falsity