1
as in infidelity
lack of faithfulness especially to one's husband or wife
so that their love would never know a moment of falseness, Thomas Jefferson promised his dying wife that he would never remarry
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in betrayal
the act or fact of violating the trust or confidence of another
she could not believe that her so-called best friend could ever be guilty of such falseness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in deception
the quality or state of being false
the falseness of your reasoning is so blatant that it's no wonder you reached that absurd conclusion
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for falseness
Noun
-
All the secrets pour out, the revelations of infidelity and addiction and so on, as the group gives vent to the stuff that’s previously been unsayable—not to fix anything, mind you, since some things can’t be fixed.—
Emily Nussbaum,
New Yorker,
12 Mar. 2026 -
These liaisons are consensual but fraught by infidelity, disparities in age and power, shifting norms.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The streamer said the drama will show how the couple’s love, betrayals and artistic work were shaped by the political and social atmosphere of the time.—
Stewart Clarke,
Deadline,
12 Mar. 2026
-
While at the convent, Willa learned about her mother's betrayal, and now Bob wants to be fully honest with her.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Later that year, federal prosecutors in New York charged the company’s former CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, with securities fraud and related offenses tied to investor deception.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
See what happens when jealousy, suspicion and deception take over.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The facile novelty of adultery is its own mask, a sexy way of dressing up a deep, frightened longing for security.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
6 Mar. 2026
-
The Texas attorney general beat a 2023 impeachment trial on corruption charges and reached a deal to end a long-running securities fraud case but now faces a contentious divorce over allegations of adultery.—
Meg Kinnard,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Not having to bear that burden, I was transported by Bentley and his co-writer Greg Kwedar to a Pacific Northwest of quiet beauty and matter-of-fact treachery.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
-
After Thomas Hickey was hanged that year for mutiny, sedition and treachery, Washington warned that his fate should serve as a caution to all soldiers.—
Kim Hjelmgaard,
USA Today,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Any time there is a crisis in Iran, the 1953 British-American coup against Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh is dusted off as Exhibit A in the case against Western perfidy.—
Bobby Ghosh,
Time,
5 Mar. 2026
-
But the mayor’s dramatic tale of his predecessor’s fiscal fiddling was designed with a clear political agenda in mind: both to underline the magnitude of the problem and to identify the villains responsible for this perfidy.—
Washington Post,
Washington Post,
29 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Pavel Dabravolski, a 36-year-old Belarusian journalist for BelaPAN, was sentenced to nine years in a maximum-security prison after being convicted of treason, according to the Belarusian Association of Journalists.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
13 Mar. 2026
-
Current law says only those accused of murder or treason can have bail withheld, but this language expands that possibility to other offenses, such as misdemeanors.—
Kayla Dwyer,
IndyStar,
6 Mar. 2026
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Cite this Entry
“Falseness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/falseness. Accessed 18 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
