veracity

English

Etymology

From Middle French véracité, from Old French veracitie, from Medieval Latin vērācitās (“truthfulness”), from Latin vērāx (“truthful, speaking truth”), from vērus (“true, real”). See very.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /vəˈɹæ.sɪ.ti/
• (US) IPA^(key): /vəˈɹæ.sə.ti/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

veracity (countable and uncountable, plural veracities)

1. (uncountable, of a person) The quality of speaking or stating the truth; truthfulness.
   • 1933, James Hilton, Lost Horizon:

     Of course if you don't accept Conway's story, it means that you doubt either his veracity or his sanity—one may as well be frank.

2. (countable) Something that is true; a truthful statement; a truth.
3. (uncountable) Agreement with the facts; accordance with the truth; accuracy or precision.
4. Act of being exact and accurate.
5. Correctness and carefulness in one's plan of action.

Synonyms

• veraciousness, veridicality; for more, see Thesaurus:veracity

Related terms

English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *weh₁-‎ (0 c, 22 e)

Translations

(of a person) the quality of speaking or stating the truth; truthfulness

• Arabic: صِدْق m (ṣidq)
• Bulgarian: правди́вост (bg) f (pravdívost)
• Catalan: veracitat (ca) f
• Czech: pravdomluvnost (cs) f
• Danish: oprigtighed c
• Esperanto: vereco
• Finnish: todenmukaisuus (fi), totuudenmukaisuus (fi)
• French: véracité (fr) f
• Galician: veracidade (gl) f
• Georgian: სიმართლე (simartle), უტყუარობა (uṭq̇uaroba)
• German: Aufrichtigkeit (de)
• Greek: ειλικρίνεια (el) f (eilikríneia)
• Portuguese: veracidade (pt) f
• Russian: правди́вость (ru) f (pravdívostʹ)
• Spanish: veracidad (es) f
• Swedish: sanning (sv), uppriktighet (sv)
• Tagalog: katotohanan (tl)
• Telugu: బొంకమి (boṅkami)

something that is true; a truthful statement; a truth

• Bulgarian: истина (bg) f (istina)
• Danish: sandhed (da) c
• French: vérité (fr) f
• Galician: verdade (gl) f
• Georgian: სიმართლე (simartle), უტყუარობა (uṭq̇uaroba)
• Greek: αλήθεια (el) f (alítheia)
• Portuguese: verdade (pt) f
• Russian: пра́вда (ru) f (právda)
• Swedish: sanning (sv)

agreement with the facts; accordance with the truth; accuracy or precision

• Bulgarian: достоверност (bg) f (dostovernost)
• Finnish: todenmukaisuus (fi), totuudenmukaisuus (fi)
• French: exactitude (fr) f
• Galician: exactitude (gl) f
• Greek: ακρίβεια (el) f (akríveia), ορθότητα (el) f (orthótita)
• Swedish: sanningsenlighet (sv)

Further reading

• “veracity”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “veracity”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.