truthfulnessn.
/ˈtruːθf(ᵿ)lnəs/, U.S. /ˈtruθfəlnəs/ 1. Disposition to tell the truth; honesty, veracity.Apparently not recorded in 18th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [noun]
soothfastnessc825
trutha1450
fidelity1534
verity1565
veracity1623
truthfulness1647
veritableness1664
veridicalness1727
tell-truth1744
truthiness1832
veraciousness1860
veridicalitya1901
veridicity1937
1647 J. Lightfoot Harmony Foure Evangelists: 2nd Pt. xii. 93 That Roman was called verissimus, for his exceeding great truthfulnesse.
1677 F. Bampfield All in One 150 A general subjection of our whole Man to the will of this Soveraign Lord doth bottom upon a general belief of his Truthfulness.
1843 E. Miall in Nonconformist 3 1 Soundness of principles, and..truthfulness of spirit.
a1873 H. W. Wilberforce Ch. & Empires (1874) 110 Any..writer..who..commands belief by his accuracy and truthfulness.
1920 E. Wharton Age of Innocence ii. xxxi. 308 A woman's standard of truthfulness was tacitly held to be lower.
1973 N.Y. Law Jrnl. 20 Mar. 4/4 A subject's emotional responses as measured by the polygraph are no proof either of truthfulness or lying.
2014 D. Tucker End of Intelligence vi. 162 The officer..had a record that raised questions about his truthfulness.
2. Esp. of a work of art or literature: the quality or condition of being true to life; accuracy in representing reality; freedom from pretence or counterfeit.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > [noun] > accuracy of
truthfulness1824
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > representation in art > [noun] > an artistic representation > accurate
truth1802
truthfulness1824
1824 London Mag. July 72/1 That state of moral as well as mental degradation to which the law's delay has reduced a respectable citizen, is depicted with affecting truthfulness.
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede II. ii. xvii. 5 It is for this rare, precious quality of truthfulness that I delight in many Dutch paintings.
1886 C. E. Pascoe London of To-day (ed. 3) xlii. 362 English work, and especially as applied to furniture, used to have a character for truthfulness, simplicity, solidity, and comfort.
1915 W. Cather Song of Lark vi. xi. 477 Artistic growth is, more than it is anything else, a refining of the sense of truthfulness.
1988 M. Sendak Caldecott & Co. (1989) ii. 149 For me, his greatness lies in the truthfulness of his vision of life.
2000 Wasafiri Spring 80/2 Newland is at his best in the unsophisticated immediacy and racy truthfulness of the dialogues.
3. Conformity with fact or reality; the quality or fact of being true.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [noun]
soothc950
soothOE
rightOE
soothnessc1275
soothness1297
soothshipc1320
soothhead1340
very1382
trotha1387
trutha1391
verity1422
veriment1528
true?1531
trueness1559
veriness1574
reality1604
veracity1664
veridicalness1727
the fact of the matter1808
truthfulness1835
actualité1840
the straight1866
satya1879
straight goods1892
veridicalitya1901
truth value1903
dinky1941
1835 W. Scoresby Memorials of Sea 294 His wounded eye, and cheek, and head..bore testimony to the truthfulness of his account of his own adventures.
1847 G. Bush Mesmer & Swedenborg iii. 57 We are unable..to verify the truthfulness of the report.
1911 Jrnl. County Kildare Archæol. Soc. 6 535 This expression denotes a strong doubt as to the truthfulness of a statement.
1950 Chicago Tribune 3 Feb. iii. 1/2 The mere fact that a statement appeared in print was considered proof of its truthfulness.
2005 H. Hovenkamp Antitrust Enterprise ii. 49 The question..is one of economic theory, or fact. One determines its truthfulness..by constructing an economic model and then attempting to test it.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2015; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1647