veracity

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noun ve·rac·i·ty \ və-ˈra-sə-tē \

Definition of veracity

plural veracities

1 :conformity with truth or fact :accuracy

2 :devotion to the truth :truthfulness

3 :power of conveying or perceiving truth

4 :something true

makes lies sound like veracities

See veracity defined for English-language learners

See veracity defined for kids

veracity was our Word of the Day on 12/22/2009. Hear the podcast!

Examples of veracity in a Sentence

What gives the book its integrity are the simplicity and veracity of these recipes and the small touches—bits of history, discovery and personal reflection. —Harvey Steiman, Wine Spectator, 31 Mar. 1998
The trial began with a flurry of motions and questions challenging the judge's authority and veracity. The defendants earlier had called the judge's authority into question when jurors were selected two weeks ago. —Chris Bird, San Antonio Express-News, 23 Jan. 1996
… some documentary photographers supported the photographer's right to find essential rather than literal truths in any situation, while others … insisted on absolute veracity, maintaining that for images to be true to both medium and event, situations should be found, not reenacted. —Naomi Rosenblum, A World History of Photography, 1989
We questioned the veracity of his statements.
The jury did not doubt the veracity of the witness.

Recent Examples of veracity from the Web

In her return engagement Monday, Fuller attacked the veracity of Scott's Instagram posts, which prosecutors said were only brought to their attention Thursday night and which did not implicate the defendant by name.

— richard a. webster, NOLA.com, "7th Ward shooting victim identified by New Orleans Coroner," 21 Aug. 2017
The head of voting technology company Smartmatic said earlier Wednesday that the National Electoral Council's voter turnout number was off by at least 1 million, further darkening uncertainty over the veracity over the results.

— fabiola sanchez and christine armario, chicagotribune.com, "Venezuela's Maduro dismisses vote tampering allegation," 3 Aug. 2017
As Wednesday’s investigation into the veracity of Pickle barged on ahead, weary Trump supporters noted the lunacy – the desperation – of people who would dedicate so much energy to tearing apart a sweet letter from a child.

— monica hesse, sacbee, "Did a 9-year-old called ‘Pickle’ really write to Trump? Yep – and he’s from Stockton.," 28 July 2017
Violent protests erupted over the veracity of the results with sometimes fatal consequences for Iran’s citizens.

— terry hong, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Refuge' is the story of an Iranian family in search of home," 26 July 2017
This trend then evolved to reference things celebrities and politicians avoid, like awards shows (Justin Bieber) or the veracity of climate change (Republicans).

— chelsea peng, Marie Claire, "The 11 Most Essential Memes of 2017," 20 July 2017
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office spokeswoman Kathleen Caffrey confirmed Monday's confession and said that prosecutors and police are investigating the veracity of the man's claims.

— cory shaffer, cleveland.com, "Euclid man's burglary, robbery sentencing postponed after another man confesses to the crime," 18 July 2017
Despite the confidence of the statement, fans still have some reason to doubt the veracity of these start dates, considering all the ups and downs this film has suffered.

— yohana desta, HWD, "Is the Queen Biopic with Rami Malek Really Happening?," 17 July 2017
The claims and counter-claims have yet to be examined in court for their veracity.

— gary robbins, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Famed institute becomes latest site of controversy about gender equity in the sciences," 15 July 2017

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

Did You Know?

Veracity has been a part of English since at least 1623, and we can honestly tell you that it derives from the Latin adjective verax ("true" or "truthful"), which in turn comes from the earlier adjective verus ("true"). Verus also gives us verity ("the quality of being true"), verify ("to establish the truth of"), and verisimilitude ("the appearance of truth"), among other words. In addition, verax is the root of the word veraciousness, a somewhat rarer synonym and cousin of veracity.