untrueun‧true /ʌnˈtruː/ adjective 
allegations that are totally untrue It’s untrue to say that the situation has not changed.► see thesaurus at wrongRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say something is not true rather than untrue:· It’s not true to say nothing has changed.2literary someone who is untrue to their husband, wife etc is not faithful to them SYN unfaithfulTHESAURUSuntrue [not usually before noun] not true, because the person does not know the facts, or because they are lying: · It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.· The allegations are completely untrue.false not true and not based on the facts, or not the real one: · The article gives a totally false impression of life in Russia today.· He gave a false name and address to the police.· Decide whether these statements are true or false.something is not the case if what someone says or believes is happening is not the case, it is not happening and what they say or believe is not true: · Recent reports suggest that violent crime is increasing, but this is simply not the case.· People think there’s an endless supply of fish, but unfortunately that’s not the case.misleading a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is not true, especially because it does not give all the facts: · The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.· These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.trumped-up trumped-up charges, accusations, evidence etc use information that is not true in order to make someone seem guilty of doing something wrong: · He had been arrested by the secret police on trumped-up charges of spying.· Zola believed that the case against Dreyfus was trumped-up and utterly false.something that is untruemyth something a lot of people believe because they want to believe it, not because it is based on fact: · The first myth about motherhood is that new mothers instantly fall in love with their babies.· Contrary to popular myth, our streets are much safer now than they were 100 years ago.illusion a belief or idea that is false, especially a belief in something good about yourself or about the situation you are in: · Alcohol gives people the illusion of being witty and confident.· People bought the land under the illusion that the value would increase.misconception an idea that is not true but which people believe because they do not have all the facts, or they have not properly understood the situation: · It’s a common misconception that vaccinations given in childhood last for life.· Employers seem to share the general misconception that young people are more efficient than older workers.delusion a completely mistaken idea, which affects your behaviour and what you decide to do: · He began to suffer from paranoid delusions.· Many people labour under the delusion (=have the delusion) that anything which says ‘natural ingredients’ on the label must be harmless.· the delusion that women control most of the world' s wealth and powerfallacy if you say that something is a fallacy, you mean that it is completely wrong to believe that it is true: · The idea that a good night’s sleep will cure everything is a complete fallacy.· It’s a fallacy that all fat people are fat simply because they eat too much.
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.
- The interviewer made it sound like I thought it was okay to hit a woman, which is totally untrue.
- The report has proven this information to be untrue.
- But perhaps people tell him things that are untrue.
- Furthermore, he admitted to having given the ethics panel untrue information when it investigated those projects.
- He does not wish to be misled, or to have his options curbed by rash declarations that prove to be untrue.
- How do we form our judgements as to what is true and what is untrue about the world?
- It is also misleading because it is thought to be unhistorical and untrue.
- It wasn't that the McCain campaign leaflet was untrue.
- The real problem, though, is that the basis of Hopkins's argument is demonstrably untrue.
- They said the claims were untrue.
THESAURUS
[not usually before noun] not true, because the person does not know the facts, or because they are lying: · It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.· The allegations are completely untrue.
not true and not based on the facts, or not the real one: · The article gives a totally false impression of life in Russia today.· He gave a false name and address to the police.· Decide whether these statements are true or false.
if what someone says or believes is happening is not the case, it is not happening and what they say or believe is not true: · Recent reports suggest that violent crime is increasing, but this is simply not the case.· People think there’s an endless supply of fish, but unfortunately that’s not the case.
a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is not true, especially because it does not give all the facts: · The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.· These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.
trumped-up charges, accusations, evidence etc use information that is not true in order to make someone seem guilty of doing something wrong: · He had been arrested by the secret police on trumped-up charges of spying.· Zola believed that the case against Dreyfus was trumped-up and utterly false.
something that is untrue something a lot of people believe because they want to believe it, not because it is based on fact: · The first myth about motherhood is that new mothers instantly fall in love with their babies.· Contrary to popular myth, our streets are much safer now than they were 100 years ago.
a belief or idea that is false, especially a belief in something good about yourself or about the situation you are in: · Alcohol gives people the illusion of being witty and confident.· People bought the land under the illusion that the value would increase.
an idea that is not true but which people believe because they do not have all the facts, or they have not properly understood the situation: · It’s a common misconception that vaccinations given in childhood last for life.· Employers seem to share the general misconception that young people are more efficient than older workers.
a completely mistaken idea, which affects your behaviour and what you decide to do: · He began to suffer from paranoid delusions.· Many people labour under the delusion (=have the delusion) that anything which says ‘natural ingredients’ on the label must be harmless.· the delusion that women control most of the world' s wealth and power
if you say that something is a fallacy, you mean that it is completely wrong to believe that it is true: · The idea that a good night’s sleep will cure everything is a complete fallacy.· It’s a fallacy that all fat people are fat simply because they eat too much.
Longman Language Activatorwhen what someone says is not true: it's/that's not true · "No one ever helps me." "That's not true."· You're believing what Mike's saying and it's just not true, he doesn't have a clue what's happening.it is not true that · It is not true that all women want to go out to work.
not true. Untrue is more formal than not true: · The report has proven this information to be untrue.it is untrue that: · It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.completely/totally/absolutely/simply untrue: · The interviewer made it sound like I thought it was okay to hit a woman, which is totally untrue.
not true or not correct: · He gave a false name and address to the police.· The article gives a totally false impression of life in Russia today.· Decide whether these statements are true or false.· Her claims of being able to recall past lives were later proved false.
if what someone says or believes is happening is not the case , it is not happening and what they say or believe is not true: · Recent reports suggest that violent crime is increasing, but this is simply not the case.· People think if kids are aware of a particular brand or ad campaign, they'll buy the product, but that's not the case.
if there is no truth in or to something that has been said or written, it is completely untrue: · There is no truth in the rumour that Collins and his wife are about to divorce.· Robinson says there is no truth to the reports that he is ready to resign.
misleading information or statements make people believe something that is not true, especially by not giving them all the facts: · The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.· These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.
if an explanation, story etc does not ring true , it does not seem to be true even though you are not quite sure why you think it is untrue: · There was something odd about her story, something that didn't ring true.· One of the jurors said that Hill's explanation just didn't ring true.
: trumped-up charge/accusation/case etc something someone says, a legal case etc that is false and has been invented, especially in order to harm someone else for political purposes: · He had been arrested by the secret police on trumped-up charges of spying.· Zola believed that the case against Dreyfus was trumped-up and utterly false.
to think of a reason or explanation that is untrue to think of a reason, explanation, excuse etc that is untrue: make up something: · I gave her my name, then made up a telephone number with a Los Angeles area code.make something up: · "You're saying you think Bobby just made it up?" "I think he believes it, but I'm not sure it's true."
to think of a reason, explanation, or excuse that is sometimes very complicated but completely untrue: · I began to invent reasons for staying away from work.· It was proven that one witness's story had been invented.
an untrue story or explanation an untrue story or explanation that you use as an excuse or to impress someone: give somebody some story: · She gave me some story about Mark being an old friend.tall tale/story: · It's the sort of tall tale about how good they are with women that guys tell in bars.cock-and-bull story especially British: · He gave me a cock-and-bull story about the glass being smashed in the storm, but it looked to me like the two of them had had a fight.
an untrue story or piece of information that someone has deliberately invented: · It can sometimes be difficult to tell fact from fiction.pure fiction (=completely untrue and invented): · The president denied that he was ill, labelling the report "pure fiction."
an untrue story or piece of information that someone has deliberately invented in order to deceive people: · Everything that was written about me in that article was a fabrication.total/pure/complete fabrication: · The defense said that the victim's story was a total fabrication designed to get revenge.
what you say when you think something is untrue British spoken also bull American spoken use this when you think something is totally untrue and stupid: · I don't know where he got that idea, it's total bull.· You don't believe that rubbish, do you?· That's nonsense. Don't be silly.
spoken also a pile of American spoken use this when you think everything that someone has said or written about something is stupid and completely untrue: a load of nonsense/rubbish British: · I told Julia what he'd said, and she said that it was a load of nonsense.· That article is a load of rubbish, if you ask me.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY It’s untrue to say that the situation has not changed.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES To say that the proposal has no disadvantages at all is patently untrue.
It’s untrue to say that the situation has not changed. To say that the proposal has no disadvantages at all is patently untrue.WORD FAMILYadverbtrulytruthfully ≠ untruthfullytruenountruth ≠ untruthtruthfulnessadjectivetrue ≠ untruetruthful ≠ untruthful
1not based on facts that are correct SYN false: allegations that are totally untrue It’s untrue to say that the situation has not changed.► see thesaurus at wrongRegisterIn everyday English, people usually say something is not true rather than untrue:· It’s not true to say nothing has changed.2literary someone who is untrue to their husband, wife etc is not faithful to them SYN unfaithfulTHESAURUSuntrue [not usually before noun] not true, because the person does not know the facts, or because they are lying: · It is untrue that the college broke the terms of the contract.· The allegations are completely untrue.false not true and not based on the facts, or not the real one: · The article gives a totally false impression of life in Russia today.· He gave a false name and address to the police.· Decide whether these statements are true or false.something is not the case if what someone says or believes is happening is not the case, it is not happening and what they say or believe is not true: · Recent reports suggest that violent crime is increasing, but this is simply not the case.· People think there’s an endless supply of fish, but unfortunately that’s not the case.misleading a misleading statement or piece of information makes people believe something that is not true, especially because it does not give all the facts: · The holiday brochure is deliberately misleading, because the hotels it shows are not the ones you actually stay in.· These statistics give a misleading impression of what is happening to the economy.trumped-up trumped-up charges, accusations, evidence etc use information that is not true in order to make someone seem guilty of doing something wrong: · He had been arrested by the secret police on trumped-up charges of spying.· Zola believed that the case against Dreyfus was trumped-up and utterly false.something that is untruemyth something a lot of people believe because they want to believe it, not because it is based on fact: · The first myth about motherhood is that new mothers instantly fall in love with their babies.· Contrary to popular myth, our streets are much safer now than they were 100 years ago.illusion a belief or idea that is false, especially a belief in something good about yourself or about the situation you are in: · Alcohol gives people the illusion of being witty and confident.· People bought the land under the illusion that the value would increase.misconception an idea that is not true but which people believe because they do not have all the facts, or they have not properly understood the situation: · It’s a common misconception that vaccinations given in childhood last for life.· Employers seem to share the general misconception that young people are more efficient than older workers.delusion a completely mistaken idea, which affects your behaviour and what you decide to do: · He began to suffer from paranoid delusions.· Many people labour under the delusion (=have the delusion) that anything which says ‘natural ingredients’ on the label must be harmless.· the delusion that women control most of the world' s wealth and powerfallacy if you say that something is a fallacy, you mean that it is completely wrong to believe that it is true: · The idea that a good night’s sleep will cure everything is a complete fallacy.· It’s a fallacy that all fat people are fat simply because they eat too much.