false

See also: FALSE and falsé

English

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /fɔːls/, /fɒls/
• IPA^(key): /fɔls/, /fɑls/

• Audio (US):

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• Audio (UK):

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• Audio:

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Adjective

false (comparative falser, superlative falsest)

1. 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.

2. Based on factually incorrect premises.

   false legislation, false punishment

3. Spurious, artificial.

   false teeth

   • Template:RQ:Chmbrs YngrSt

     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.

4. (logic) Of a state in Boolean logic that indicates a negative result.
5. Uttering falsehood; dishonest or deceitful.

   a false witness

6. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous.

   a false friend, lover, or subject;  false to promises

   • (Can we date this quote by John Milton and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     I to myself was false, ere thou to me.

7. Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous.

   a false conclusion;  a false construction in grammar

   • (Can we date this quote by Edmund Spenser and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     whose false foundation waves have swept away

8. Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
9. 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)

   false powderpost beetles (members of Bostrichidae not in Lyctinae)

10. (music) Out of tune.

Synonyms

• lease
• See also Thesaurus:false

Antonyms

• (untrue): real, true

Derived terms

• false alarm
• false attack
• false dawn
• false flag
• false friend
• falsehood
• false light
• falsen
• false negative
• falseness
• false note
• false positive
• falsifiable
• falsify
• falsity

 

Translations

untrue, not factual, wrong

• Arabic: زَائِف (zāʔif)
• Armenian: կեղծ (hy) (keġc), սխալ (hy) (sxal)
• Assamese: মিছা (misa), ভুৱা (bhua)
• Asturian: falsu
• Breton: gaou (br)
• Bulgarian: грешен (bg) (grešen)
• Catalan: fals (ca), incorrecte (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 假 (zh) (jiǎ), 虛偽／虚伪 (zh) (xūwěi), 虚伪 (zh) (xūwěi), 虛假／虚假 (zh) (xūjiǎ), 虚假 (zh) (xūjiǎ)

• Cornish: gaw
• Crimean Tatar: yañlış
• Czech: nepravdivý m
• Dalmatian: fuals
• Danish: falsk (da)
• Dutch: onwaar (nl), vals (nl), fout (nl), onjuist (nl)
• Esperanto: malvera
• Finnish: valheellinen (fi), epätosi (fi), väärä (fi), (prefix) vale-
• French: faux (fr), incorrect (fr)
• Galician: falso (gl)
• Georgian: ცრუ (cru), ტყუილი (ṭq̇uili)
• German: falsch (de), unwahr (de)
• Greek: ψευδής (el) (psevdís)

  Ancient: ψευδής (pseudḗs)

• Hebrew: שקרי m (shikrí), לא נכון m (ló nakhón)
• Hindi: झूठा (hi) (jhūṭhā), खोटा (hi) (khoṭā)
• Hungarian: hamis (hu)
• Icelandic: rangur (is), ósannur (is)
• Ido: falsa (io)
• Indonesian: salah (id)
• Interlingua: false
• Irish: bréagach, bréige
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Italian: falso (it), errato (it), bugiardo (it) m
• Japanese: 偽 (ja) (にせ, nise), 虚偽 (ja) (きょぎ, kyogi)
• Korean: 거짓 (ko) (geojit)
• Kyrgyz: жаңылыш (ky) (jaŋılış), ката (ky) (kata), жасалма (ky) (jasalma), арамза (ky) (aramza)
• Latin: falsus, mendax
• Latvian: nepareizs, kļūdains
• Lithuanian: klaidingas (lt), neteisingas (lt)
• Malay: salah
• Maori: patē, parau, horihori, meho, tipatipa, teka, hāwatewate, kēā
• Norman: faux
• Occitan: fals (oc)
• Old English: lēas
• Persian: غلط (fa) (ġalat)
• Polish: fałszywy (pl), nieprawdziwy (pl)
• Portuguese: falso (pt), errado (pt)
• Romanian: fals (ro), neadevăr (ro)
• Russian: фальши́вый (ru) (falʹšívyj), ло́жный (ru) (lóžnyj), непра́вильный (ru) (neprávilʹnyj)
• Sanskrit: असत् (sa) (ásat), असत्य (sa) (asatya), अशुद्ध (sa) (aśuddha)

  Vedic: आसत् (ā́sat)

• Sardinian: fàlsu
• Scottish Gaelic: breugach, fuadain
• Spanish: falso (es)
• Swedish: falsk (sv), osann (sv)
• Sylheti: ꠝꠤꠍꠣ (misá)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: yanlış (tr), yalan (tr)
• Urdu: جھوٹھا (jhūṭhā), غلط (ġalat), کھوٹا (khōṭā)
• Volapük: dobik (vo), neveratik (vo)
• Welsh: anwir, anghywir (cy), ffug (cy), gau (cy)
• Yiddish: פֿאַלש (falsh)

based on factually incorrect premises

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: perusteeton (fi), väärä (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: falsa (io)
• Maori: hewa

spurious, artificial

• Armenian: կեղծ (hy) (keġc)
• Asturian: falsu
• Bulgarian: изкуствен (bg) (izkustven), фалшив (bg) (falšiv)
• Catalan: fals (ca), postís, artificial (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Czech: falešný (cs), imitovaný, nepravý, umělý (cs)
• Danish: kunstig (da)
• Dutch: vals (nl), onecht (nl)
• Finnish: keinotekoinen (fi), teko- (fi), keino-, vale- (fi)
• French: faux (fr), artificiel (fr)
• Galician: falso (gl)
• Georgian: ყალბი (q̇albi)
• German: falsch (de), unecht (de)
• Greek: ψευδής (el) (psevdís), πλαστός (el) (plastós), κίβδηλος (el) (kívdilos), νόθος (el) (nóthos)

  Ancient: πλαστός (plastós)

• Hebrew: מזוייף m (mezuyáf), תותב m (totáv) (prosthetic), תותבת f (totévet) (prosthetic)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hamis (hu), mű-
• Ido: falsa (io)
• Indonesian: buatan (id)
• Interlingua: false
• Irish: bréag-, bréagach, bréige, falsa
• Italian: posticcio (it), finto (it)
• Latvian: viltots, mākslīgs
• Lithuanian: dirbtinis (lt), netikras
• Malay: palsu
• Polish: sztuczny (pl)
• Portuguese: falso (pt), artificial (pt)
• Romanian: fals (ro), artificial (ro), contrafăcut (ro)
• Scottish Gaelic: breugach, meallta, mealltach, fuadain
• Spanish: postizo
• Swedish: konstgjord (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: yapay (tr), sahte (tr)

state in Boolean logic that indicates a negative result

• Bulgarian: неверен (bg) (neveren)
• Catalan: fals (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Dutch: onwaar (nl), vals (nl)
• Finnish: epätosi (fi)
• French: faux (fr)
• German: falsch (de)
• Hebrew: שקרי m (shikrí)
• Hungarian: hamis (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Ido: falsa (io)
• Irish: bréagach
• Italian: falso (it)
• Norman: faux
• Portuguese: falso (pt)
• Romanian: fals (ro) n
• Spanish: falso (es)
• Swedish: falskt (sv)
• Turkish: yanlış (tr)

uttering falsehood

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: epärehellinen (fi)
• Hungarian: hamis (hu)

not faithful or loyal

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: petollinen (fi), epälojaali
• Hungarian: hűtlen (hu), hamis (hu)

not well founded, erroneous

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• Finnish: virheellinen (fi), väärä (fi), kelvoton (fi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: hamis (hu)
• Ido: falsa (io)
• Maori: mākiri

not essential or permanent

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: vale- (fi), väliaikainen (fi)
• Hungarian: ál-

music: out of tune

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: please add this translation if you can

• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Finnish: epävireinen (fi), falski (fi)
• Hungarian: hamis (hu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Indonesian: ^{(please verify)} palsu (id)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} falso (es), ^{(please verify)} falaz (es)

Adverb

false (comparative more false, superlative most false)

1. Not truly; not honestly; falsely.
   • (Can we date this quote by Shakespeare and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?)

     You play me false.

Noun

false (plural falses)

1. 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

• Leafs, alefs, fasel, feals, fleas, leafs, lefsa

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Italian

Adjective

false f pl

1. feminine plural of falso

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Latin

Noun

(deprecated template usage) false

1. 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 with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)
• false in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.

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Spanish

Verb

false

1. Formal second-person singular (usted) imperative form of falsar.
2. First-person singular (yo) present subjunctive form of falsar.
3. Formal second-person singular (usted) present subjunctive form of falsar.
4. Third-person singular (él, ella, also used with usted^?) present subjunctive form of falsar.