truthfuladj.
/ˈtruːθf(ᵿ)l/, U.S. /ˈtruθf(ə)l/ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > [adjective]
soothfastc825
truefastOE
i-treowec1000
unfakenOE
trueOE
sickerc1100
trigc1175
strustya1250
steel to the (very) backa1300
true as steela1300
certainc1325
well-provedc1325
surec1330
traistc1330
tristc1330
trustya1350
faithfula1382
veryc1385
sada1387
discreet1387
trust1389
trothfulc1390
tristya1400
proveda1425
good-heartedc1425
well-trusted?a1439
tristfulc1440
authorizablea1475
faithworthy?1526
tentik1534
fidele1539
truthfulc1550
suresby1553
responsible1558
trestc1560
reliable1569
cocksurea1575
sound1581
trustful1582
truepenny1589
true (also good, sure) as touch1590
probable1596
confident1605
trustable1606
axiopistical1611
loyala1616
reposeful1627
confiding1645
fiducial1647
laudable1664
safe1667
accountable1683
serious1693
sponsible1721
dependable1730
unfailing1798
truthya1802
trustworthy1829
all right1841
stand-up1841
falsehood-free1850
right1856
proven1872
bankable1891
secure1954
c1550 Clariodus (1830) i. l. 924 The trewthfullest in love, and gentillest wight.
1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 283 That I suld want ȝour treuthfull companie.
2.
a. Of an utterance, statement, etc.: conforming to the truth; true, factual; sincere.In later use as extended use of sense 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adjective]
aefauldOE
trueOE
true as steela1300
throlya1375
entirec1380
faithfula1382
entirelyc1400
single1519
sincere1533
sincere1539
simple-minded1556
Dunstable?1565
truthful?1567
single-hearted1574
single-minded1577
sound1580
downright1584
unaffected1592
real1597
plain-hearted1601
unartificial1603
free1619
honest1634
fair and square1636
round-dealing1642
wholehearted1657
down flata1663
well-designing1670
heart-whole1684
single-eyed1705
unsanctimoniousa1797
natural1825
bona fide1827
unfallacious1827
jannock1828
forthcoming1835
up and down1836
bonified1840
forthgoing1851
unhypocritical1854
forthright1855
upstanding1863
on the level1872
genuine1890
for real1954
upfront1967
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > of statement: agreeing with reality
soothlyc888
soothfastc950
truea1250
very1303
strait1340
honesta1400
soothfulc1400
precisec1443
veritable1474
just1490
perfect1523
faithful1529
sincere1555
unmangled1557
truthful?1567
neat1571
oraculous1612
punctual1620
oracular1631
unvamped1639
strict1645
unembroidered1649
ungarbled1721
unexaggerated1770
veracious1777
unfictitious1835
unexaggeratinga1854
uncooked1860
?1567 M. Parker Whole Psalter xxxiv. 86 Fast truthfull worde confoundth all blame.
1596 R. Linche Certaine Sonnets in Diella sig. B7 My truthfull pleadings will not cause you rue.
1632 G. Wither Psalmes of David li. 96 True my finde thy Truthfull word.
1760 Ladies' Diary 29 Some truthful Reason give Why you refuse what you wou'd fain receive.
1846 in R. Coates Leaflets of Memory for 1846 48 The perfectly truthful response to every inquiry..was uniformly ‘Nothing—at least I do not know.’
1887 Spectator 2 Apr. 458/2 Criticism must be truthful, but it may also be mannerly.
1903 D. Blackburn Burgher Quixote i. 1 This truthful story of the struggles after righteousness of a once oprecht Burgher of the late South African Republic.
1957 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Oct. 637/2 A clearly truthful account of the lives and jungle-fights of those cold-hearted career-women.
2001 Village Voice (N.Y.) 9 Jan. 25/1 Grand jurors..are perfectly at liberty to accept truthful and accurate testimony and to disregard..demonstrably inaccurate testimony.
b. Of a person or his or her attributes: telling, or disposed to tell, the truth; free from deceitfulness; honest, veracious. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective]
soothfastc825
soothsaȝelc900
trueOE
unlighela1200
sootha1250
un-i-lowec1380
textualc1386
veritable1489
truthful1568
troth telling1579
veridical1653
verificala1660
of veracity1671
veriloquous1672
veraciousa1677
unfabling1797
veridicous1817
falsehood-free1850
trothful1861
veridic1895
1568 W. Fulwood Enimie Idlenesse iv. f. 142 Then shalbe tryde our truthfull harts, then shall our loue be showne.
1577 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. Ephesians xxx. f. 215 God will disclayme vs, vntyll we beare his mark, and bee created new agein in Iesus Christ. As how? Too bee truthfulle.
1614 A. Gorges tr. Lucan Pharsalia i. 17 Whilst Iustice, lawes Gaue vpright hearing to thy cause; And that a truthfull tongue might speake, So long my words the yce did breake.
1622 ‘Jack Dawe’ Vox Graculi 72 If Flatt'ry be sent packing from the Court, Falshood i'th Citty, shall in Truthfull sort Then stuffe each Shop.
1677 F. Bampfield All in One 57 An unchangeable Law of the All-knowing Truthfull Creator, and Governour, and Redeemer.
1767 Ess. on Friendship 20 Let truthful Energy thy Words adorn.
1787 J. Berington Hist. Lives Abeillard & Heloisa Pref. p. xvi I profess to be as accurate as I can, and as truthful as the character of my records will allow.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. v. 132 What my poverty takes awa' frae the weight o' my counsel, grey hairs and a truthfu' heart should add it twenty times.
1860 W. G. Ward Nat. & Grace i. 109 He has given us faculties, which are truthful and not mendacious.
1921 M. E. M. MacGregor Little Miss Melody xxvi. 300 She was so loyal, so crystally truthful, so utterly self-forgetful, so generous of heart.
1974 J. Willwerth Jones: Portrait of Mugger x. 134 He is intelligent, gentle (with me), and shockingly truthful.
2004 Independent 10 Mar. (Review section) 11/3 When Bill Gates says..that Windows is becoming safer all the time, he is being absolutely truthful.
3. Esp. of an idea, artistic representation, etc.: characterized by truth; corresponding with fact or reality; true to life; accurate, exact.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adjective]
soothc825
soothlyc888
soothfastc950
rightOE
lealc1330
verilya1340
veryc1386
truea1398
soothfulc1400
real1440
vray1460
trothlike1544
of verityc1550
verimenta1592
correct1705
truthful1781
truthy1848
unillusory1853
straight-up1910
1781 Lady's Mag. Oct. 550/1 Till Edwin's falsity recall'd the scenes, So faintly pourtray'd in these truthful strains.
1843 Hull Packet 8 Dec. He gave a truthful portrait of one of Sir Walter Scott's happiest heroes.
1868 E. Edwards Life Sir W. Ralegh I. x. 163 For a long period, the truthful knowledge of what Spaniards had really achieved was slight.
1871 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. Suppl. June 9 A beautifully executed and truthful portrait.
1921 Times 17 Nov. p. xiv/5 In the proportionless plastered colonnades of the Indo-Classic there was little suggestion of the truthful lithic forms of Greece.
1973 Gramophone Sept. 549/2 The recording is warm and the stereo lends it a more open and spacious sound while the balance is reasonably truthful.
2003 Shakespeare Surv. 46 82 Deconstructionists..have found literature more truthful than other forms of discourse because it frankly acknowledges and exploits the rhetoricity of language.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.c1550