falsely

adverb

false·​ly

: in a false manner: such as

a

: wrongly, incorrectly

falsely assumed that he was familiar with the subject

b

: not truthfully : dishonestly

recently cleared of a murder charge to which he had falsely confessed as a result of police brutality

—Curtis Bok

swore falsely that he had seen me that morning

c

: without cause : unjustly

led to the exoneration of a man falsely convicted of forgery

—Current Biography

d

: deceitfully, insincerely

smiled falsely at her unwelcome visitor

e

: not genuinely : speciously

the difficulty in presenting Elizabethan plays is that they are liable to be made too modern or falsely archaic

—T. S. Eliot

Word History

Etymology

Middle English falsly, from fals false + -ly

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