veridical

adjective

ve·​rid·​i·​cal və-ˈri-di-kəl 

1

: truthful, veracious

… tried … to supply … a veridical background to the events and people portrayed …

—Laura Krey

2

: not illusory : genuine

It is assumed that … perception is veridical …

—George Lakoff

veridicality

və-ˌri-də-ˈka-lə-tē 

noun

veridically

və-ˈri-di-k(ə-)lē 

adverb

Did you know?

We'll tell only the truth here: veridical comes from the Latin word veridicus, which itself is from two other Latin words: verus, meaning "true," and dicere, meaning "to say." Verus is an ancestor of several English words, among them verity, verify, and very (which originally meant "true"). The word verdict is related to veridical on both sides of the family: it also traces back to verus and dicere. Veridical itself is the least common of the verus words. You're most likely to encounter it in contexts dealing with psychology and philosophy.

Examples of veridical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There appears to be a close relationship between the brain areas responsible for veridical, imagined, and hallucinatory perception, though more data is needed. —Lance Eliot, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

Unless, that is, there is a veridical image imprinted in the victims’ mind/brain, one which can be extracted using a method that depends simultaneously on the necessity of speech and the impossibility of its communicating the truth. —Will Self, Harper's Magazine, 23 Nov. 2021

People tend to think of hallucination as a kind of false perception, in clear contrast to veridical, true-to-reality, normal perception. —Anil K. Seth, Scientific American, 1 Sep. 2019

Word History

Etymology

Latin vēridicus "conveying the truth" (from vērus "true" + -dicus "saying, one who says," nominal derivative of dīcere "to speak, say") + -al entry 1 — more at very entry 2, diction

First Known Use

1653, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!