veritable

adjective

ver·i·ta·ble | \ ˈver-ə-tə-bəl

Definition of veritable

: being in fact the thing named and not false, unreal, or imaginary —often used to stress the aptness of a metaphor a veritable mountain of references

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Did You Know?

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

The first Monday in May (aka the Met Gala) is a veritable institution of beauty inspiration. — Teen Vogue, "The Best Met Gala Beauty Looks of All Time," 3 May 2019 Their quest, however, faces stiff opposition from IOI, a corporate entity overseen by Sorrento (Mendelsohn), which employs a veritable army of gamers assigned to decipher the clues before Wade and company can beat them to it. — Brian Lowry, CNN, "'Ready Player One' loads imaginative mash-up from Steven Spielberg," 29 Mar. 2018 If the plethora of activity in Chicago alone is any indication, the field is experiencing a veritable golden age of new American chamber operas. — John Von Rhein, chicagotribune.com, "Chicago Opera Theater's 'Elizabeth Cree' is a bloody good show," 11 Feb. 2018 Packing in a 12-watt charger would be an easier lift, but one that would still render veritable mountains of 5-watt chargers that doubtlessly already exist basically useless. — Eric Limer, Popular Mechanics, "Why the iPhone Won't Dump Lightning for USB-C Even Though the iPad Pro Did," 11 Feb. 2019 The series has become a veritable viral phenomenon, with its first 10-episode season being extended by an additional 13 episodes airing this winter. — Mariano Vivanco; Styled By Simon Robins, Harper's BAZAAR, "The New American Dynasty," 3 Dec. 2018 The rooms are a colorful maze full of children’s artwork, artifacts collected during family travels, and a veritable library of surfboards, given the household is just 100 meters from the beach. — Zachary Weiss, Vogue, "Nusa Indah’s Covetable Custom Surfboards Bring Art to the Ocean," 3 Aug. 2018 Among the ramifications: •Without Cousins, a veritable force of nature averaging 25.2 points, 12.9 rebounds and 5.4 assists (more than point guards Kyrie Irving, Ricky Rubio and Goran Dragic, among others), the playoffs seem a very distant goal. — Bruce Jenkins, San Francisco Chronicle, "Cousins’ injury a multi-layered mess," 27 Jan. 2018 Now, the rover’s pulled together a veritable feast. — Amina Khan, latimes.com, "Curiosity rover's findings on Mars' organic molecules offer tantalizing clues in the search for life on the planet," 8 June 2018

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.