WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
false /fɔls/USA pronunciation
adj., fals•er, fals•est.
false•ness, n. [uncountable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- not true or correct;
erroneous;
wrong:a false statement. - uttering or declaring what is untrue;
lying:a false witness. - not faithful or loyal:a false friend.
- tending to deceive or mislead;
deceptive:a false impression. - not genuine;
counterfeit:[before a noun]a false name. - not real;
used as a substitute or aid, esp. temporarily;
artificial:[before a noun]false teeth. - based on mistaken, erroneous, or inconsistent impressions, ideas, or facts:[before a noun]false pride.
- wrong or not correct in pitch, such as a musical note:[before a noun]He played several false notes.
false•ness, n. [uncountable]
- false is an adjective, falseness and falsity are nouns, falsify is a verb, falsely is an adverb:His nervousness created a false impression during the job interview. She was discouraged by his falseness and cowardice. There was a good deal of falsity in the papers. He tried to falsify his passport. He was falsely accused of the murder.
false
(fôls),USA pronunciation adj., fals•er, fals•est, adv.
adj.
adv.
false′ly, adv.
false′ness, n.
adj.
- not true or correct;
erroneous:a false statement. - uttering or declaring what is untrue:a false witness.
- not faithful or loyal;
treacherous:a false friend. - tending to deceive or mislead;
deceptive:a false impression. - not genuine;
counterfeit. - based on mistaken, erroneous, or inconsistent impressions, ideas, or facts:false pride.
- used as a substitute or supplement, esp. temporarily:false supports for a bridge.
- Biologyhaving a superficial resemblance to something that properly bears the name:the false acacia.
- not properly, accurately, or honestly made, done, or adjusted:a false balance.
- inaccurate in pitch, as a musical note.
adv.
- dishonestly;
faithlessly;
treacherously:Did he speak false against me? - Idioms play someone false, to betray someone;
be treacherous or faithless.
- Latin
- Latin falsus feigned, false, origin, originally past participle of fallere to deceive; reinforced by or reborrowed from Anglo-French, Old French fals, feminine false
- Middle English, Old English fals bef. 1000
false′ness, n.
- 1. mistaken, incorrect, wrong, untrue. 2. untruthful, lying, mendacious. 3. insincere, hypocritical, disingenuous, disloyal, unfaithful, inconstant, perfidious, traitorous. 4. misleading, fallacious. 5. artificial, spurious, bogus, forged. False, sham, counterfeit agree in referring to something that is not genuine. False is used mainly of imitations of concrete objects; it sometimes implies an intent to deceive:false teeth; false hair.Sham is rarely used of concrete objects and usually has the suggestion of intent to deceive:sham title; sham tears.Counterfeit always has the implication of cheating; it is used particularly of spurious imitation of coins, paper money, etc.
'falsely' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Bach
- flatter
- ghost
- gild
- Hippolytus
- mawkish
- perjured
- Phaedra
- prevaricate
- profess
- Pseudepigrapha
- purport
- sham
- apologize
- calumniate
- deceive
- defame
- disingenuous
- fable
- falsify
- folk etymology
- forgery
- forswear
- frame
- grift
- lie
- made-up
- misdescribe
- misreport
- misrepresent
- Nenets
- paralogize
- perjure
- perjury
- pious
- pretend
- pretended
- pretense
- prevaricator
- pseudoclassic
- put
- quack
- Ronan
- take
- template
- traduce
- tremissis
- verderer
- screen memory
- seeming