suppressio veri
A lawyer commits suppressio veri by withholding a key document during the trial.
Definition
- Noun (Latin phrase):
- Concealment of truth: "suppressio veri" refers to the deliberate act of hiding or omitting a fact, thereby distorting the truth. It is often used in legal, ethical, or rhetorical contexts to describe a form of deception where the truth is suppressed by not revealing relevant information.
- Distortion through omission: This phrase specifically denotes the distortion of reality achieved by withholding key facts, as opposed to actively stating a falsehood.
Usage Examples
- (Concealment of truth by omitting a crucial fact.)
- (Distortion through omission in reporting.)
Advanced Usage
- "suppressio veri, suggestio falsi": a broader Latin maxim meaning "suppression of the truth is suggestion of falsehood." This phrase highlights that omitting a truth can be as misleading as stating a lie.
- The company's press release was an example of suppressio veri, suggestio falsi, as it omitted the product's safety risks. (The omission implied a false sense of safety.)
Variants and Related Words
- Suppression (n): the act of preventing something from being known or expressed.
- The suppression of evidence led to a mistrial. (The deliberate hiding of evidence.)
- Suppress (v): to put an end to or hide something.
- He tried to suppress the report's findings. (To conceal or stop from being known.)
Synonyms
- Concealment: the act of hiding something.
- Omission: the act of leaving out or failing to include something.
- Withholding: the refusal to give or reveal something.
Related Idioms
- "To sweep under the rug": to hide or ignore a problem or fact.
- The government tried to sweep the scandal under the rug, a classic case of suppressio veri. (To conceal the truth by ignoring it.)
- "To keep in the dark": to deliberately not inform someone about something.
- The manager kept the team in the dark about the layoffs, practicing suppressio veri. (To withhold information intentionally.)