false

adjective

ˈfȯls How to pronounce false (audio)
Definition of falsenext
1
as in erroneous
not being in agreement with what is true early reports about the explosion contained much false information

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in faux
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials George Washington's false teeth were not made of wood but of elephant ivory and cow's teeth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in counterfeit
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud arrested for selling false ID cards to teenagers

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality so much of the sympathy that the widow received was false and hypocritical, since it came from people who never liked her husband in the first place

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5
as in fraudulent
marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value false advertising that claimed that the vegetables were organically grown when they weren't

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6
as in traitorous
not true in one's allegiance to someone or something false friends who deserted the prizefighter when all his money was gone

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
7
as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive it turned out that the con man had made false promises of marriage to a dozen women

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word false different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of false are disloyal, faithless, perfidious, traitorous, and treacherous. While all these words mean "untrue to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance," false stresses the fact of failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery.

betrayed by false friends

When is disloyal a more appropriate choice than false?

Although the words disloyal and false have much in common, disloyal implies a lack of complete faithfulness to a friend, cause, leader, or country.

disloyal to their country

When is it sensible to use faithless instead of false?

The words faithless and false can be used in similar contexts, but faithless applies to any failure to keep a promise or pledge or any breach of allegiance or loyalty.

faithless allies

How are the words perfidious and faithless related as synonyms of false?

Perfidious adds to faithless the implication of an incapacity for fidelity or reliability.

a perfidious double-crosser

Where would traitorous be a reasonable alternative to false?

In some situations, the words traitorous and false are roughly equivalent. However, traitorous implies either actual treason or a serious betrayal of trust.

traitorous acts punishable by death

When can treacherous be used instead of false?

The synonyms treacherous and false are sometimes interchangeable, but treacherous implies readiness to betray trust or confidence.

a treacherous adviser

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of false News to Know McAfee addresses Cornett situation ESPN personality Pat McAfee referenced the case of Mary Kate Cornett yesterday, his first public comments after amplifying a false claim about her weeks ago. —Chris Branch, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025 The politics , the lies and false narratives finally got me! —Madison E. Goldberg, People.com, 11 Apr. 2025 Corporate grocery conglomerates and their lobbyists — who have defeated similar efforts across the country — are resorting to false claims and fear-mongering in hopes of unwinding our progress. —Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2025 Misleading real or generated images can make false claims seem more believable and even cause people to misremember real events. —Arryn Robbins, The Conversation, 11 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for false
Recent Examples of Synonyms for false
  1. erroneous
  2. faux
  3. counterfeit
  4. mock
  5. fraudulent
  6. traitorous
  7. inaccurate
  8. synthetic
Adjective
  • For generations, his grave has been marked by an erroneous headstone with a Latin cross, not a Star of David, something Eiferman learned only recently.
    — Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2025
  • But Trump sees trade deficits as America getting ripped off, which is erroneous.
    — Matt Fleming, Oc Register, 11 Apr. 2025
Definition of erroneous
Adjective
  • Leather or faux leather are both common suspects for luxury crossbody phone bags, but there are also alternatives made with recycled, easy-to-clean nylon, suede, canvas, and beyond.
    — Stacia Datskovska, Footwear News, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Both the Oppo Find X6 Ultra and Find X7 Ultra had a dual-tone finish where half the phone featured a faux leather back.
    — Prakhar Khanna, Forbes.com, 10 Apr. 2025
Definition of faux
Adjective
  • In Asia, a shadow trade war has long been fought in China over intellectual property—mainly counterfeit goods like putting a Blackhawks logo on an unauthorized cap.
    — Brendan Coffey, Sportico.com, 4 Apr. 2025
  • Image Beware of counterfeit eclipse glasses and solar viewers.
    — Katrina Miller, New York Times, 28 Mar. 2025
Definition of counterfeit
Adjective
  • Most recent mock drafts are also split between an offensive lineman or cornerback Will Johnson from Michigan.
    — Jim Sergent, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
  • Take a look at how Omar Kelly envisions the first round playing out in the second and likely final version of his mock draft, unless there’s a trade made before Thursday night’s first-round kickoff.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 18 Apr. 2025
Definition of mock
Adjective
  • Ask if there was any suspicious account activity, such as a login from a new device, before the fraudulent charges occurred.
    — Kurt Knutsson, CyberGuy Report, FOXNews.com, 10 Apr. 2025
  • Barker and the business owner — who pleaded guilty in February on charges in a separate indictment — agreed to deduct the true cost of the supplies from the fraudulent invoices and split the rest between them, according to the indictment.
    — Natalie Demaree, Miami Herald, 9 Apr. 2025
Definition of fraudulent
Adjective
  • Foreign military interventions can change victims from being viewed as a nuisance into being seen as powerful and traitorous enemies, potentially capable of exacting revenge, seizing power, or breaking away from the state.
    — Benjamin A. Valentino, Foreign Affairs, 17 Oct. 2011
  • But what will their first move as a traitorous duo be?
    — Tom Smyth, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
Definition of traitorous
Adjective
  • Companies with low-quality data could end up with AI outputs that are inaccurate and biased, which could send the company's strategy in the wrong direction, frustrate customers or worse.
    — Rob Sanchez, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
  • Companies with low-quality data could end up with AI outputs that are inaccurate and biased, which could send the company's strategy in the wrong direction, frustrate customers or worse.
    — Rob Sanchez, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025
Definition of inaccurate
Adjective
  • The Indianapolis facility includes a manufacturing plant that will begin producing drugs in 2026 and a site that represents the largest investment to make active pharmaceutical ingredients for synthetic medicines in the country's history.
    — Alice Park, Time, 17 Apr. 2025
  • Consumers with allergies to synthetic food dyes are advised to monitor recall databases and carefully examine product labels.
    — Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Apr. 2025
Definition of synthetic

Browse Nearby Words

fall (to)
false
falsehood
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Cite this Entry

“False.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/false. Accessed 24 Apr. 2025.

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