Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
False
False
,Adj.
[
Com
par.
Falser
; sup
erl.
Falsest
.] 1.
Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest;
as, a
. false
witness2.
Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious;
as, a
false
friend, lover, or subject; false
to promises.I to myself was
false
, ere thou to me. Milton.
3.
Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint;
as, a
. false
statement4.
Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical;
as,
false
tears; false
modesty; false
colors; false
jewelry.False
face must hide what the false heart doth know. Shakespeare
5.
Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous;
as, a
false
claim; a false
conclusion; a false
construction in grammar.Whose
false
foundation waves have swept away. Spenser.
6.
Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
7.
(Mus.)
Not in tune.
False arch
(Arch.)
, a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction.
– False attic
, an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms.
– False bearing
, any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing.
– False cadence
, an imperfect or interrupted cadence.
– False conception
(Med.)
, an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus.
– False croup
(Med.)
, a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane.
– False door
or
False window
(Arch.)
, the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry.
– False fire
, a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction.
– False galena
. See
– Blende
. False imprisonment
(Law)
, the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody.
– False keel
(Naut.)
, the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio’s lateral resistance.
– False key
, a picklock.
– False leg
. (Zool.)
See
– Proleg
. False membrane
(Med.)
, the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane.
– False papers
(Naut.)
, documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, etc., for the purpose of deceiving.
– False passage
(Surg.)
, an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments.
– False personation
(Law)
, the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another.
– False pretenses
(Law)
, false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another.
– False rail
(Naut.)
, a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it.
– False relation
(Mus.)
, a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp.
– False return
(Law)
, an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution.
– False ribs
(Anat.)
, the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man.
– False roof
(Arch.)
, the space between the upper ceiling and the roof.
Oxford Gloss.
– False token
, a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes.
– False scorpion
(Zool.)
, any arachnid of the genus
– Chelifer
. See Book scorpion
. False tack
(Naut.)
, a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack.
– False vampire
(Zool.)
, the
– Vampyrus spectrum
of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; – called also vampire
, and ghost vampire
. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus
and Diphylla
. See Vampire
. False window
. (Arch.)
See
– False door
, above. False wing
. (Zool.)
– False works
(Civil Engin.)
, construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.
False
,adv.
Not truly; not honestly; falsely.
“You play me false.” Shak.
1.
To report falsely; to falsify.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
2.
To betray; to falsify.
[Obs.]
[He] hath his truthe
falsed
in this wise. Chaucer.
3.
To mislead by want of truth; to deceive.
[Obs.]
In his
falsed
fancy. Spenser.
4.
To feign; to pretend to make.
[Obs.]
“And falsed oft his blows.” Spenser.
Webster 1828 Edition
False
FALSE
,Adj.
1.
Not true; not conformable to fact; expressing what is contrary to that which exists, is done, said or thought. A false report communicates what is not done or said. A false accusation imputes to a person what he has not done or said. A false witness testifies what is not true. A false opinion is not according to truth or fact. The word is applicable to any subject, physical or moral.2.
Not well founded; as a false claim.3.
Not true; not according to the lawful standard; as a false weight or measure.4.
Substituted for another; succedaneous; supposititious; as a false bottom.5.
Counterfeit; forged; not genuine; as false coin; a false bill or note.6.
Not solid or sound; deceiving expectations; as a false foundationFalse and slippery ground.
7.
Not agreeable to rule or propriety; as false construction in language.8.
Not honest or just; not fair; as false play.9.
Not faithful or loyal; treacherous; perfidious; deceitful. The king's subjects may prove false to him. So we say, a false heart.10.
Unfaithful; inconstant; as a false friend; a false lover; false to promises and vows.The husband and wife proved false to each other.
11.
Deceitful; treacherous; betraying secrets.12.
Counterfeit; not genuine or real; as a false diamond.13.
Hypocritical; feigned; made or assumed for the purpose of deception; as false tears; false modesty. The man appears in false colors. The advocate gave the subject a false coloring.False fire, a blue flame, made by the burning of certain combustibles, in a wooden tube; used as a signal during the night.
False imprisonment, the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody.
FALSE
,adv.
FALSE
,Verb.
T.
1.
To violate by failure of veracity; to deceive. Obs.2.
To defeat; to balk; to evade. Obs.Definition 2024
false
false
English
Adjective
false (comparative falser, superlative falsest)
- Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect.
- 1551, James A.H. Murray, editor, A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles: Founded Mainly on the Materials Collected by the Philological Society, volume 1, Oxford: Clarendon Press, published 1888, Part 1, page 217:
- Also the rule of false position, with dyuers examples not onely vulgar, but some appertaynyng to the rule of Algeber.
-
- Based on factually incorrect premises.
- false legislation
- Spurious, artificial.
- false teeth
- 1907, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “chapter VIII”, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 4241346:
- At her invitation he outlined for her the succeeding chapters with terse military accuracy; and what she liked best and best understood was avoidance of that false modesty which condescends, turning technicality into pabulum.
- (logic) 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
- John Milton (1608-1674)
- I to myself was false, ere thou to me.
- Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous.
- a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar
- Edmund Spenser (c.1552–1599)
- whose false foundation waves have swept away
- Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
- (music) Out of tune.
Synonyms
- lease
- See also Wikisaurus:false
Antonyms
Derived terms
Translations
untrue, not factual, wrong
|
|
spurious, artificial
|
|
state in Boolean logic that indicates a negative result
uttering falsehood
|
not faithful or loyal
|
not well founded, erroneous
not essential or permanent
|
Adverb
false (comparative more false, superlative most false)
- Not truly; not honestly; falsely.
- Shakespeare
- You play me false.
- Shakespeare
Noun
false (plural falses)
- One of two options on a true-or-false test.
- The student received a failing grade for circling every true and false on her quiz.
Anagrams
Latin
Noun
false
- vocative singular of falsus
References
- false in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- FALSE in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition, 1883–1887)
- Félix Gaffiot (1934), “false”, in Dictionnaire Illustré Latin-Français, Paris: Hachette.
Spanish
Verb
false