Definition of VERITABLE

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Veritable, like its close relative "verity" ("truth"), came to English through Anglo-French from Latin. It is ultimately derived from "verus," the Latin word for "true," which also gave us "verify," "aver," and "verdict." "Veritable" is often used as a synonym of "genuine" or "authentic" ("a veritable masterpiece"), but it is also frequently used to stress the aptness of a metaphor, often in a humorous tone ("a veritable swarm of lawyers"). In the past, usage commentators have objected to the latter use, but today it doesn't draw much criticism.

Examples of veritable in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Sans no competition from another tentpole, Avengers: Infinity War has topped the box office for three consecutive weekends, a veritable eternity in summer, when Hollywood tentpoles generally open one on top of another. — Pamela Mcclintock, The Hollywood Reporter, "Weekend Box Office: 'Avengers: Infinity War' Devours 'Life of the Party,' 'Breaking In' With $62M," 13 May 2018 Still, the move makes the Yankees a veritable home run factory at a low cost and greatly impacts the AL playoff race. — Jon Tayler, SI.com, "What Does Edwin Encarnacion Trade Mean for the Yankees and the AL Playoff Race?," 15 June 2019 This veritable treasure trove also includes Soane’s drawing office, the only surviving early 19th-century architectural workspace of its kind. — Olivia Martin, Town & Country, "Sir John Soane’s Museum Foundation Announces 2018 Visionaries Gala," 19 Sep. 2018 Water leaking from a choked drain trap caused a veritable flood at the Hall of Justice yesterday, which disrupted one court session, routing judge, jury, witnesses and spectators, and inundated a number of cells on four floors of the County Jail. — Scott Harrison, latimes.com, "From the Archives: Clogged drain floods courtroom in 1926," 14 Feb. 2018 Cabinet secretaries, aides, and a veritable posse of current (and oddly, former) Trump staffers were also on hand, marching in and out of the city’s swank hotels with their earphoned security details. — Clifton Leaf, Fortune, "President Trump Arrives at Davos," 25 Jan. 2018 Perhaps most infamously, St. Louis’s massive Pruitt-Igoe project was a veritable war zone, demolished 20-some years after construction. — Robert Graboyes, Fortune, "Commentary: Mick Mulvaney Wants to Decide What the Poor Eat for Lunch," 14 Feb. 2018 The veritable shout of the micro-mini blazer won out in the end. — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, "Watch Supermodel Ashley Graham Get Met Gala Gorgeous with Dapper Dan," 8 May 2019 Lizzo, who is a veritable pop star on the rise, attended her first ever Met Gala last night as a guest of Marc Jacobs. — Chrissy Rutherford, Harper's BAZAAR, "Lizzo Wore Her Met Gala Outfit to The Airport This Morning," 7 May 2019

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