falsehoodfalse‧hood /ˈfɔːlshʊd $ ˈfɒːls-/ noun formal 
Examples
Saunders is deliberately telling a falsehood.2[uncountable] the practice of telling lies SYN lying: No one had accused me of falsehood before.3[uncountable] the state of not being true OPP truth: Most people believe in right and wrong, truth and falsehood.
ExamplesEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
Thesaurus- Why Campbell had chosen to spread such a falsehood is a mystery.
- And some high priests have told falsehoods.
- Others again have taken as the play's essence the need to reconcile not truth and falsehood but competing truths.
- The action of malicious or injurious falsehood has both similarities to, and important differences from, an action for libel.
- They have a duty to set the record straight, otherwise they are conniving at falsehood.
- Yet again, it was a falsehood which she would need to explain and correct.
THESAURUS► lie
Collocations noun [countable] something you say or write that you know is untrue: · Would you tell lies to protect a friend?· The allegation is a complete lie.
► white lie noun [countable] informal a lie that you tell to avoid upsetting someone: · We all tell white lies sometimes.
► fib noun [countable] informal a lie, especially about something that is not very important – used especially by children: · Have you been telling fibs?
► porky noun [countable usually plural] British English informal a lie – a very informal use: · He’s been telling porkies again.
► falsehood noun [countable] formal a statement that is not true, especially one that is intended to give people the wrong idea about someone or something: · He described the allegations as malicious falsehoods.
► untruth noun [countable] formal a lie – used especially when you want to avoid saying the word lie: · Some workers go off and tell untruths about the organisations for which they are working.
► fabrication noun [countable, uncountable] formal a story or claim that someone has invented in order to deceive someone, or the act of doing this: · The claim was described as a fabrication by the police prosecutor.· He dismissed the charges as pure fabrication.
► libel noun [uncountable] law the crime of writing lies that could make people have a bad opinion of someone, especially in a newspaper or magazine: · She sued the newspaper for libel.· libel laws
► slander noun [countable, uncountable] law the crime of speaking lies that could make people have a bad opinion of someone, or an untrue statement which does this: · He’s threatening to sue them for slander.· a slander on the good name of the company· Linking his name to terrorism was a slander.
Longman Language Activatorsomething untrue that is said or written► lie something that you say which you know is not true: · Jim said that he was planning to stay home and watch TV, but I knew it was a lie.lie about: · How can the newspapers print all these lies about her?a pack of lies (=so many lies that you feel shocked or angry): · He called the report "a pack of lies".a bald-faced/an outright/a downright lie (=a clear and shocking lie): · Davenport said the congressman's allegations were nothing more than "downright lies".
► white lie a lie that does not harm anyone, especially one that is told in order to avoid hurting someone's feelings: · It's just a little white lie. No real harm done.· I told him his suit looked wonderful, which was a white lie.· "I'm sorry I couldn't come. I had a really bad headache," she explained, resorting to a white lie.
► fib informal a lie, especially one that is not very important: · You're not telling me a fib, are you?fib about: · I had to make up some fib about why I was late.
► falsehood formal an untrue statement or story, especially one that has been carefully and deliberately invented to give people the wrong idea about someone or something: · Mudge, in a written statement Wednesday, said the article was a collection of "falsehoods and misinformation".spread a falsehood: · Why Campbell had chosen to spread such a falsehood is a mystery.
► half-truth a statement that is almost a lie because it does not tell the whole truth about something: · McCarthy's blend of half-truths and lies ruined many careers in government and the professions.· Forbes' book on Bonham is littered with half-truths, and, in some cases, outright lies.
► misinformation incorrect information, especially information that is deliberately intended to deceive people: · According to Kramer, the Internet is a storehouse of lies and misinformation.misinformation about: · "For months, the Democrats have run television commercials filled with misinformation about the Republican Party," said Dawson.
► disinformation false information which is given deliberately in order to hide the truth or confuse people, especially in political situations: · The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced the report as "disinformation".disinformation about: · Logan said government agents are still spreading disinformation about leaders of the political reform movement.
► propaganda false or partly false information that is spread by a government or political organization, in order to make people support and agree with their political aims and beliefs: · Propaganda is a tool of war.Communist/US etc propaganda: · Radio Marti is still there, spewing its US propaganda across the waters toward Cuba.propaganda campaign (=an organized plan to spread propaganda): · In Najaf, Khomeini had begun a propaganda campaign against the Shah.anti-Western/anti-Communist/anti-Labour etc propaganda: · a piece of anti-Communist propaganda
► smear campaign when people tell lies about someone in the newspapers, on television etc, in order to make people have a bad opinion of that person: mount a smear campaign against somebody: · The Labour Party mounted a smear campaign against Livingstone before the election.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE► malicious
1[countable] a statement that is untrue SYN lie: · He described the article as grossly defamatory ... and said the case contained the essentials of a malicious falsehood action.· The action of malicious or injurious falsehood has both similarities to, and important differences from, an action for libel.· In malicious falsehood the aggrieved, in this case Miss Joyce, must show the Today's comments are false.· Grappelli had to be content with an action for malicious falsehood.· The action for malicious falsehood is much less favourable to plaintiffs than defamation.· Firstly, legal aid is not available for libel, but it may be granted for malicious falsehood.
Saunders is deliberately telling a falsehood.2[uncountable] the practice of telling lies SYN lying: No one had accused me of falsehood before.3[uncountable] the state of not being true OPP truth: Most people believe in right and wrong, truth and falsehood.