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
• fraudulence
• deceit
• 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

This matters because cancer falsehoods online are directly linked to higher rates of death, studies have found. — Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 20 June 2026

Diplomats are paid to lie for their country, but this may be the greatest and most obvious falsehood ever uttered by a diplomat not named Sergey Lavrov. — Robert Kagan, The Atlantic, 19 June 2026

The trouble is not TMI but TLI Another falsehood standing in the way of feeling loved is the presumption that asking questions will seem nosy. — Jessica Dulong, CNN Money, 16 June 2026

They are peppered with falsehoods, misrepresentations, insults, praise, self-promotion and erratic capitalizations. — New York Times, 11 June 2026