Synonyms of falsehood

falsehood

noun

ˈfȯls-ˌhu̇d 

1

as in delusion

a false idea or belief

the possibility of a perpetual motion machine is one falsehood that has been disproved by modern physics

Synonyms & Similar Words

• delusion
• myth
• error
• illusion
• superstition
• untruth
• misconception
• fallacy
• misunderstanding
• falsity
• misbelief
• hallucination
• lie
• distortion
• fiction
• pretense
• old wives' tale
• misrepresentation
• tale
• misinformation
• inaccuracy
• misinterpretation
• misstatement
• factoid
• misperception
• miscomprehension
• misapprehension
• misjudgment
• sophism
• half-truth
• sophistry
• story
• fib
• misreport
• misknowledge

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truth
• verity

2

as in lie

a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive

several falsehoods in the witness's testimony that may be grounds for perjury

Synonyms & Similar Words

• lie
• tale
• story
• untruth
• falsity
• mendacity
• fabrication
• fable
• fairy tale
• prevarication
• fib
• distortion
• ambiguity
• exaggeration
• whopper
• fiction
• taradiddle
• defamation
• slander
• libel
• half-truth
• deceit
• fraudulence
• perjury
• nonsense
• misrepresentation
• equivocation
• obliquity
• myth
• misconception
• misinformation
• fallacy
• bluff
• misstatement
• falsification
• dishonesty
• duplicity
• pose
• pretense
• canard
• humbug
• deceitfulness
• jive
• misreport

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truth
• fact
• truthfulness
• honesty
• truism
• veracity
• verification
• confirmation
• validation
• verity
• authentication
• substantiation

3

as in deception

the quality or state of being false

scientists eventually demonstrated the falsehood of the claim that prehistoric fish did not evolve lungs and legs

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deception
• falseness
• deceptiveness
• untruth
• fallacy
• delusion
• falsity
• erroneousness
• fallaciousness
• spuriousness
• inaccuracy
• speciousness
• dishonesty
• untruthfulness
• incorrectness
• mendacity
• mendaciousness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truth
• verity
• accuracy
• correctness
• genuineness
• actuality
• truthfulness
• credibility
• honesty
• trustworthiness
• veracity
• factuality
• factualness

4

as in deceit

the tendency to tell lies

a cynic who believes that politics are a veritable fount of falsehood

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deceit
• deceitfulness
• untruthfulness
• dishonesty
• mendacity
• mendaciousness
• falseness
• duplicity
• insincerity
• fakery
• crookedness
• cunning
• dissimulation
• hypocrisy
• dissembling
• double-dealing
• guile
• craftiness
• wiliness
• artifice
• trickishness
• craft
• guilefulness
• foxiness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• truthfulness
• integrity
• honesty
• veracity
• verity
• sincerity
• honor
• good faith
• probity
• frankness
• reliability
• accuracy
• candor
• objectivity
• trustworthiness
• straightforwardness
• dependability
• incorruptibility
• correctness
• veraciousness
• authenticity
• credibility
• genuineness
• candidness
• plainspokenness
• reliableness

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of falsehood

As Nora’s speech and Catherine’s kind moments suggest, characters’ actions don’t consistently reflect their overall moral stance, which is often based on misunderstandings and falsehoods, its validity unknowable even to them. — Judy Berman, Time, 27 July 2026

In the film, however, Odysseus’s falsehoods have dire consequences, an apparent reflection of the biblical assertion that false witness is a sin. — Luis Parrales, The Atlantic, 26 July 2026

According to the indictment, Escoe, Cher David, Gino Jourdan, Alfred Da Vis, Latoya Clark and James McGhow submitted applications for COVID relief loans and grants with a long list of falsehoods. — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 26 July 2026

Trump is twice divorced, relishes cursing publicly and offers a never-ending onslaught of falsehoods. — Will Weissert, Fortune, 18 July 2026