false
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- incorrect, erroneous, faulty, inaccurate, inexact, invalid, mistaken, wrong
- untrue, lying, unreliable, unsound, untruthful
- artificial, bogus, counterfeit, fake, forged, imitation, sham, simulated
- deceptive, deceitful, fallacious, fraudulent, hypocritical, misleading, trumped up

---

Antonyms: true, real
Contrasted words: accurate, correct, established, factual, truthful, veracious, veridical, bona fide, genuine
Related Idioms: contrary to fact, off the mark
Related Words: deceptive, delusive, delusory, distorted, fallacious, misleading, deceitful, dishonest, fraudulent, lying, mendacious, untruthful, apostate, backsliding, renegade, crooked, devious, hollow, apparent, ostensible, seeming

---

English Thesaurus: artificial, synthetic, man-made, fake, imitation, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

false W3 /fɔːls $ fɒːls/ adjective
[Date: 900-1000; Language: Latin; Origin: falsus, from fallere 'to deceive']

1. UNTRUE a statement, story etc that is false is completely untrue:
Please decide whether the following statements are true or false.
false accusations

REGISTER
In everyday English, people usually say not true rather than false, apart from in the fixed expression true or false:
■ What he said was false. ➔ What he said was not true.

2. WRONG based on incorrect information or ideas:
I don’t want to give you any false hopes.
The statement gives us a false impression that we understand something when we do not.
false assumptions about people of other cultures
a false sense of security (=a feeling of being safe when you are not really safe)

3. NOT REAL
a) not real, but intended to seem real and deceive people:
The drugs were hidden in a suitcase with a false bottom.
The man had given a false name and address.
b) artificial
false teeth/hair/eyelashes etc

4. NOT SINCERE not sincere or honest, and pretending to have feelings that you do not really have:
She’s so false.
a false laugh
‘You played brilliantly.’ ‘Not really,’ Ian replied with false modesty.

5. false economy something that you think will save you money but which will really cost you more:
It’s a false economy not to have travel insurance.

6. under false pretences if you get something under false pretences, you get it by deceiving people:
He was accused of obtaining money under false pretences.

7. false move/step a small movement or action that will result in harm:
One false move and you’re dead.

8. false imprisonment/arrest the illegal act of putting someone in prison or arresting them for a crime they have not committed

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

false
adj.
I. not true, genuine or real
VERBS be, look, prove, sound
ADV. absolutely, completely, entirely, quite, totally, utterly The gossip about her later proved to be entirely false.
partly | certainly, definitely | blatantly, clearly, obviously, patently, undoubtedly Their claim was patently false.
PHRASES true or false Lagos is the capital of Nigeria. True or false?

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

false
II. not showing your true feelings
VERBS be, ring, sound Ella's enthusiasm rang false.
ADV. horribly, very She managed a horribly false smile.
slightly Helen's voice sounded slightly false.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

artificial not real or natural, but made to look or work like something real or natural:
artificial flowers
He was given an artificial heart.
synthetic made using chemical processes rather than by natural processes:
synthetic fabrics
a synthetic version of the drug
man-made made by people – used especially about geographical features and materials:
a man-made lake
man-made fibres
fake made to look or seem like something else, especially in order to deceive people:
a fake passport
fake fur
imitation made to look like something, but not real – used especially about guns, jewellery, and leather:
imitation firearms
imitation pearls
false artificial – used especially about teeth, eyelashes, and beards:
a set of false teeth
simulated not real, but made to look, sound, or feel real, especially by means of special computers or machines:
a simulated space flight
virtual made, done, seen etc on a computer, rather than in the real world:
a virtual tour of the garden

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

claim to say that something is true, even though it has not been proved:
He claims that he didn’t see anything.
She claims to be a descendant of Charles Dickens.
allege to claim that someone did something wrong or illegal, although you do not give any proof:
It is alleged that he murdered his wife.
Patients allege that the two firms failed to warn doctors about the dangers of taking the drugs over a long period.
maintain to repeatedly say that something is true, especially when other people do not believe you:
He continued to maintain his innocence, even after he was sent to prison.
My mother always maintains that I learned to talk at six months.
insist to say very firmly that something is true:
She insists that Tom was there, although he denies it.
Turkey insists that there is more than enough water in the two rivers for all three countries.
assert formal to state that something is true – used especially in formal writing when reporting someone’s opinion:
They assert that children work better on their own.
The Environment Minister asserted that one third of the country’s cities had major pollution problems.
contend formal to claim that something is true, especially when other people disagree with you:
Lawyers contend that his back problems were due to an existing injury, not the accident.
It is possible, as Kennedy contends, that her medical condition is caused by her work.
false
His claims were later found to be false.
unfounded/unsubstantiated (=not based on truth or evidence)
These claims of discrimination are completely unfounded.
extravagant claims (=clearly not true)
Some manufacturers make extravagant claims for their products.
competing claims
the competing claims of the political parties
conflicting claims (=saying that different things are true)
The reports contained conflicting claims of the number of people killed.
make a claim
He made extravagant claims about the benefits of the diet.
deny a claim (=say it is not true)
Government officials denied claims that the country possessed chemical weapons.
dispute/reject a claim (=say it is not true)
The Prime Minister rejected claims of a disagreement within his party.
support a claim
The court found no evidence to support her claim.
back up a claim (=support it)
They challenged him to back up his claims with evidence.
accept a claim
Many scientists were reluctant to accept his claims.
challenge a claim (=say that you do not believe it is true)
Washington continued to challenge the claim that global warming is partly caused by carbon dioxide.
investigate a claim
Detectives are investigating claims that the two officials took bribes.
allegation a statement that someone has done something wrong or illegal, but that has not been proved:
He has strongly denied the allegations of sexual harassment.
assertion formal something that you say or write that you strongly believe:
the assertion that house prices are falling
contention formal a strong opinion that someone expresses:
Her main contention is that doctors should do more to encourage healthy eating.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

false not real, but intended to seem real and deceive people:
He uses a false name.
fake made to look or seem like something else, especially something worth a lot more money:
fake fur
a fake Rolex watch
fake designer goods
a fake $100 bill
forged a forged official document or bank note has been illegally made to look like a real one:
a forged passport
a forged £50 note
counterfeit /ˈkaʊntəfɪt $ -tər-/ counterfeit money or goods have been illegally made to look exactly like something else:
How do you detect counterfeit currency?
counterfeit drugs
imitation made to look real – used especially about guns, bombs etc or about materials:
The two men used an imitation firearm to carry out the robbery.
imitation leather/silk/silver
phoney/phony /ˈfəʊni $ ˈfoʊ-/ disapproving informal false – used when you think someone is deliberately trying to deceive people:
She put on a phoney New York accent.
The doctors were accused of supplying phoney medical certificates.
There’s something phoney about him.
phony advertisements
spurious /ˈspjʊəriəs $ ˈspjʊr-/ false and giving a wrong impression about someone or something:
spurious claims
That’s a spurious argument.
The company was trying to get some spurious respectability by using our name.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

untrue [not usually before noun] not true, because the person does not know the facts, or because they are lying:
It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.
The allegations are completely untrue.
false not true and not based on the facts, or not the real one:
The article gives a totally false impression of life in Russia today.
He gave a false name and address to the police.
Decide whether these statements are true or false.
something is not the case if what someone says or believes is happening is not the case, it is not happening and what they say or believe is not true:
Recent reports suggest that violent crime is increasing, but this is simply not the case.
People think there’s an endless supply of fish, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
misleading a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is not true, especially because it does not give all the facts:
The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.
These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.
trumped-up trumped-up charges, accusations, evidence etc use information that is not true in order to make someone seem guilty of doing something wrong:
He had been arrested by the secret police on trumped-up charges of spying.
Zola believed that the case against Dreyfus was trumped-up and utterly false.
myth something a lot of people believe because they want to believe it, not because it is based on fact:
The first myth about motherhood is that new mothers instantly fall in love with their babies.
Contrary to popular myth, our streets are much safer now than they were 100 years ago.
illusion a belief or idea that is false, especially a belief in something good about yourself or about the situation you are in:
Alcohol gives people the illusion of being witty and confident.
People bought the land under the illusion that the value would increase.
misconception an idea that is not true but which people believe because they do not have all the facts, or they have not properly understood the situation:
It’s a common misconception that vaccinations given in childhood last for life.
Employers seem to share the general misconception that young people are more efficient than older workers.
delusion a completely mistaken idea, which affects your behaviour and what you decide to do:
He began to suffer from paranoid delusions.
Many people labour under the delusion (=have the delusion) that anything which says ‘natural ingredients’ on the label must be harmless.
the delusion that women control most of the world' s wealth and power
fallacy if you say that something is a fallacy, you mean that it is completely wrong to believe that it is true:
The idea that a good night’s sleep will cure everything is a complete fallacy.
It’s a fallacy that all fat people are fat simply because they eat too much.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

wrong not correct or right – used about facts, answers etc, or people:
For every wrong answer, you lose five points.
The figure he gave me was wrong.
I think you’re wrong about that.
incorrect something that is incorrect is wrong because someone has made a mistake. Incorrect is more formal than wrong:
I’m afraid these prices are incorrect.
The doctor had made an incorrect diagnosis.
inaccurate something that is inaccurate is not exactly right and contains mistakes:
inaccurate information
inaccurate measurements
The old maps were often inaccurate.
false not based on true facts:
Are the following statements true or false?
He was accused of giving false information to the police.
untrue [not usually before noun] not based on true facts, especially because someone is lying or guessing:
I can’t believe he said that about me. It’s completely untrue!
The allegations were untrue.
misleading a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is wrong, especially because it does not give all the facts:
The article was very misleading.
misleading statistics
misguided a misguided decision, belief, action etc is wrong because it is based on bad judgement or understanding:
That decision seems misguided now.
It was the consequence of a misguided economic policy.
mistaken wrong – used about ideas and beliefs. Also used about a person being wrong. You’re mistaken sounds more polite and less direct than saying you’re wrong:
She’s completely mistaken if she thinks that I don’t care about her.
a mistaken belief
go badly/seriously wrong
The book is a thriller about a diamond robbery that goes badly wrong.
go horribly/terribly wrong
From that moment on, everything went horribly wrong for the team.
go disastrously wrong
Help was close at hand in case the stunt went disastrously wrong.
go tragically wrong (=so that death or serious injury results)
A father and son died in a fire after a good deed for a friend went tragically wrong.
things go wrong
If things go wrong, they’ll blame me.
something/nothing/everything goes wrong
If something goes wrong with your machine, you can take it back to the dealer.
you can’t go wrong (=you cannot make a mistake)
Turn right and then right again--you really can’t go wrong.
if anything can go wrong, it will
I’m sure that if anything can go wrong, it will.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

false
fɔ:ls
See: play one false , sail under false colors

[TahlilGaran] English Idioms Dictionary ▲