truther

noun truth·er \ ˈtrü-thər \

Updated on: 27 Mar 2018

Definition of truther

: one who believes that the truth about an important subject or event is being concealed from the public by a powerful conspiracy

He isn't a 9/11 truther, as some erroneously allege, but he has his fair share of "out there" beliefs.
—Felix Blederman

But it is not flattering to be called a "truther." The term originated, as far as anyone can tell, to characterize people who embraced alternative explanations for the Sept. 11 attacks.
—Mark Leibovich

Recent Examples of truther from the Web

This seems to be a reversal for Zuckerberg, who was once a fake-news truther.

— jane mayer, The New Yorker, "Reddit and the Struggle to Detoxify the Internet," 12 Mar. 2018
Despite all the fan theories on social media, Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott did not name their baby girl after one of Jenner’s famous lip kits (Sorry Posie K truthers!).

— jillian ruffo, PEOPLE.com, "Kylie Jenner's Baby Name Reveal for Stormi Webster Is Now the Beauty Meme of All Beauty Memes," 7 Feb. 2018
Flat-Earth truther Kyrie Irving has another take that is sure to blaze through the Internet, especially by Monday.

— charles curtis, USA TODAY, "Irving doesn't 'think of Christmas as a holiday'," 22 Dec. 2017
The sneaker is currently on sale on most sites, which, according to sneaker analyst Matt Powell (and known Yeezy truther) doesn't bode well for the style's long-term success.

— jake woolf, GQ, "These 4 Nike Sneakers Are Why the Swoosh Won 2017," 21 Dec. 2017
Meet Leila — the 4-year-old truther who spent two days filming Calvin Klein’s Eternity ad campaign with Liya Kebede and Jake Gyllenhaal.

— The Cut, "Watch This 4-Year-Old Tell the Truth About Jake Gyllenhaal," 1 Nov. 2017
That, luckily, didn’t happen (Niburu-truthers now have now recscheduled the crash for October 2017), but in recent years scientists have discovered real evidence of a hidden planet.

— jason daley, Smithsonian, "NASA Wants the Public to Log In to Help Find Planet 9," 2 Mar. 2017
There’s a second CandyStore study that candy corn truthers cite.

— elise taylor, Vogue, "Candy Corn: You Either Love It or Hate It, There Is No In-Between," 20 Oct. 2017
For example, some truthers, including myself, believe this show takes place in the King of Queens Cinematic Universe (which places KCW after the Paul Blart events and before TKOQ events).

— matt miller, Esquire, "Kevin Can Wait Had the Most Awkward Sitcom Death of All Time," 26 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'truther.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.