false.
Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect.
Meaning & usage
Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect.
Based on factually incorrect premises.
false legislation, false punishment
Spurious, artificial.
false teeth
Of a state in Boolean logic that indicates a negative result.
Uttering falsehood; dishonest or deceitful.
a false witness
Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous.
a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises
Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous.
a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar
Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
Used in the vernacular name of a species (or group of species) together with the name of another species to which it is similar in appearance.
false scorpion (an arachnid)
false killer whale (a dolphin)
Out of tune.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman and Old French fals, faus. Compare Scots fals, false, Saterland Frisian falsk, German falsch, Dutch vals, Swedish and Danish falsk; all from Latin falsus. Displaced native Middle English les, lese, from Old English lēas (“false”); See lease, leasing. Doublet of faux. The verb is from Middle English falsen, falsien, from Old French falser, from Latin falsō (“falsify”), itself also from falsus; compare French fausser (“to falsify, to distort”).
To incorrectly decode noise as if it were a valid signal.
To begin a race before being instructed to do so; to do a false start.
To violate, to betray (a promise, an agreement, one’s faith, etc.).
To counterfeit, to forge.
To make false, to corrupt from something true or real.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman and Old French fals, faus. Compare Scots fals, false, Saterland Frisian falsk, German falsch, Dutch vals, Swedish and Danish falsk; all from Latin falsus. Displaced native Middle English les, lese, from Old English lēas (“false”); See lease, leasing. Doublet of faux. The verb is from Middle English falsen, falsien, from Old French falser, from Latin falsō (“falsify”), itself also from falsus; compare French fausser (“to falsify, to distort”).
In a dishonest and disloyal way; falsely.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman and Old French fals, faus. Compare Scots fals, false, Saterland Frisian falsk, German falsch, Dutch vals, Swedish and Danish falsk; all from Latin falsus. Displaced native Middle English les, lese, from Old English lēas (“false”); See lease, leasing. Doublet of faux. The verb is from Middle English falsen, falsien, from Old French falser, from Latin falsō (“falsify”), itself also from falsus; compare French fausser (“to falsify, to distort”).
One of two options on a true-or-false test, that not representing true.
The student received a failing grade for circling every true and false on her quiz.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman and Old French fals, faus. Compare Scots fals, false, Saterland Frisian falsk, German falsch, Dutch vals, Swedish and Danish falsk; all from Latin falsus. Displaced native Middle English les, lese, from Old English lēas (“false”); See lease, leasing. Doublet of faux. The verb is from Middle English falsen, falsien, from Old French falser, from Latin falsō (“falsify”), itself also from falsus; compare French fausser (“to falsify, to distort”).
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.