veracity

noun ve·rac·i·ty \ və-ˈra-sə-tē \

Updated on: 20 May 2018

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

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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

PolitiFact, The Washington Post and others have questioned its veracity.

— z. byron wolf, CNN, "Trump keeps saying the US has spent $7 trillion in the Middle East," 24 Apr. 2018
The other three artists start with more or less conventional pictures and then set to dismantle the veracity and transparency that photography implicitly carries.

— leah ollman, latimes.com, "Cut, folded, pasted: Photography takes a twist and turn in the Getty's 'Paper Play'," 24 Apr. 2018
Doing so, will put the veracity of legitimate claims in doubt.

— ana navarro, miamiherald, "Gables Police Chief Hudak went to a pool party of bikini-clad officers — and did nothing wrong | Miami Herald," 23 Apr. 2018
Appearing as a guest on a mock Morning Joe to discuss his tell-all book about the early days of the Trump White House, Fire and Fury, Armisen’s Wolff was pressed by the hosts about its veracity.

— philip h. devoe, National Review, "Michael Wolff’s Troubled Relationship with the Truth," 20 Jan. 2018
The group posted a short video showing the Xecuter logo appearing before the Switch's usual bootup sequence (and a purported bootloader decryption key to prove its veracity).

— kyle orland, Ars Technica, "Hackers seem close to publicly unlocking the Nintendo Switch," 16 Jan. 2018
It's been more than five months since The Oregonian/OregonLive first raised questions about the veracity of Parker's professional claims.

— bethany barnes, OregonLive.com, "High-level Portland Public Schools chief quits after prestigious degree can't be verified," 27 Apr. 2018
At least one juror publicly questioned Constand’s attire on the night of the alleged assault; others seemed to have doubted Constand’s veracity.

— jen kirby, Vox, "Bill Cosby’s retrial may be the first real test of the power of #MeToo," 9 Apr. 2018
One speaker suggested that Spear hadn’t done anything wrong, one tried to use a federal privacy law to explain why Spear didn’t apologize for nearly five years and one questioned the veracity of Jameson’s story.

— chadd cripe, idahostatesman, "U of I president calls Rob Spear a ‘role model’ at emotional, packed student meeting | Idaho Statesman," 29 Mar. 2018

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.