Truth Meaning
/tɹuːθ/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounTrue facts, genuine depiction or statements of reality.
nounConformity to fact or reality; correctness, accuracy.
Sentence Examples
Nothing is beautiful but the truth.
"To tell you the truth, I am scared of heights." "You are a coward!"
Do you think she's telling the truth?
CEFR Practice Quiz
The witness swore to tell the ____ in court regarding what she saw that night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is always better to tell the ____, even if it is difficult, rather than trying to hide the facts today.
Word Origin & History
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *drewH-der. Proto-Germanic *triwwiz Proto-Indo-European *-teh₂der. Proto-Germanic *-iþō Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō Old English trēowþ Middle English trouthe English truth Inherited from Middle English trouthe, from Old English trēowþ, from Proto-Germanic *triwwiþō, from *triwwiz + *-iþō. By surface analysis, true + -th. Doublet of troth. Cognate with Norwegian trygd (“trustworthiness, security, insurance”), Icelandic tryggð (“loyalty, fidelity”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The truth depends on, and is only arrived at, by a legitimate deduction from all the facts which are truly material."
— 1831 December 27, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, “Beauty—Genius”, in H[enry] N[elson] C[oleridge], editor, Specimens of the Table Talk of the Late Samuel Taylor Coleridge. […], volume II, London: John Murray, […], published 1835, →OCLC, page 19:
"The truth is that [Isaac] Newton was very much a product of his time. The colossus of science was not the first king of reason, Keynes wrote after reading Newton’s unpublished manuscripts. Instead “he was the last of the magicians”."
— 2014 June 21, “Magician’s brain”, in The Economist, volume 411, number 8892, archived from the original on 04 Nov 2018:
"As in much of biology, the most satisfying truths in ecology derive from manipulative experimentation. Tinker with nature and quantify how it responds."
— 2012 January 26, Robert M. Pringle, “How to Be Manipulative”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, page 31:
"Alas! they had been friends in youth; / But whispering tongues can poison truth; […]"
— 1800, S[amuel] T[aylor] Coleridge, “Christabel. Part II.”, in Christabel: Kubla Khan, a Vision: The Pains of Sleep, London: […] John Murray, […], by William Bulmer and Co. […], published 1816, →OCLC, page 32:
"Ploughs, […] to make them go true, […] depends much upon the truth of the ironwork."
— 1707, J[ohn] Mortimer, The Whole Art of Husbandry; or, The Way of Managing and Improving of Land. […], London: […] J[ohn] H[umphreys] for H[enry] Mortlock […], and J[onathan] Robinson […], →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The witness swore to tell the ____ in court regarding what she saw that night.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
It is always better to tell the ____, even if it is difficult, rather than trying to hide the facts today.