false
pronunciation
How to pronounce false in British English:
UK [fɔːls]
How to pronounce false in American English:
US [fɔːls]
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- Adjective:
- not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
- arising from error
- erroneous and usually accidental
- deliberately deceptive
- inappropriate to reality or facts
- not genuine or real; being an imitation of the genuine article
- designed to deceive
- inaccurate in pitch
- adopted in order to deceive
- (used especially of persons) not dependable in devotion or affection; unfaithful
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- Adverb:
- in a disloyal and faithless manner
Word Origin
- false
- false: [OE] False appears originally to have been borrowed directly from Latin falsus at the end of the 10th century, but without making much of an impression. It was only in the 12th century that it began being used with any frequency, probably as the result of an extra impetus given by reborrowing it via Old French fals. The word’s ultimate source was the Latin verb fallere ‘deceive’, from which English also gets fail, fallacy, fallible, and fault.=> fail, fallacy, fallible, fault
- false (adj.)
- late Old English, "intentionally untrue, lying," of religion, "not of the true faith, not in accord with Christian doctrines," from Old French fals, faus "false, fake; incorrect, mistaken; treacherous, deceitful" (12c., Modern French faux), from Latin falsus "deceptive, feigned, deceitful, pretend," also "deceived, erroneous, mistaken," past participle of fallere "deceive, disappoint," which is of uncertain origin (see fail (v.)). Adopted into other Germanic languages (cognates: German falsch, Dutch valsch, Old Frisian falsk, Danish falsk), though English is the only one in which the active sense of "deceitful" (a secondary sense in Latin) has predominated. From c. 1200 as "deceitful, disloyal, treacherous; not genuine;" from early 14c. as "contrary to fact or reason, erroneous, wrong." False alarm recorded from 1570s. False step (1700) translates French faux pas. To bear false witness is attested from mid-13c.
Example
- 1. Inducing false memories is surprisingly easy .
- 2. But that is to draw false comfort .
- 3. Even noisy data with false positives can be useful .
- 4. Ibrahim 's facebook page said the reports were false .
- 5. Intel says the claims against it are false .