释义 |
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2024false /fɔls/USA pronunciation adj., fals•er, fals•est. - not true or correct;
erroneous; wrong:a false statement. - uttering or declaring what is untrue;
lying:a false witness. - not faithful or loyal:a false friend.
- tending to deceive or mislead;
deceptive:a false impression. - not genuine;
counterfeit:[before a noun]a false name. - not real;
used as a substitute or aid, esp. temporarily; artificial:[before a noun]false teeth. - based on mistaken, erroneous, or inconsistent impressions, ideas, or facts:[before a noun]false pride.
- wrong or not correct in pitch, such as a musical note:[before a noun]He played several false notes.
false•ly, adv. false•ness, n. [uncountable] false is an adjective, falseness and falsity are nouns, falsify is a verb, falsely is an adverb:His nervousness created a false impression during the job interview. She was discouraged by his falseness and cowardice. There was a good deal of falsity in the papers. He tried to falsify his passport. He was falsely accused of the murder. WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2024false (fôls),USA pronunciation adj., fals•er, fals•est, adv. adj. - not true or correct;
erroneous:a false statement. - uttering or declaring what is untrue:a false witness.
- not faithful or loyal;
treacherous:a false friend. - tending to deceive or mislead;
deceptive:a false impression. - not genuine;
counterfeit. - based on mistaken, erroneous, or inconsistent impressions, ideas, or facts:false pride.
- used as a substitute or supplement, esp. temporarily:false supports for a bridge.
- Biologyhaving a superficial resemblance to something that properly bears the name:the false acacia.
- not properly, accurately, or honestly made, done, or adjusted:a false balance.
- inaccurate in pitch, as a musical note.
adv. - dishonestly;
faithlessly; treacherously:Did he speak false against me? - Idioms play someone false, to betray someone;
be treacherous or faithless.
- Latin
- Latin falsus feigned, false, origin, originally past participle of fallere to deceive; reinforced by or reborrowed from Anglo-French, Old French fals, feminine false
- Middle English, Old English fals bef. 1000
false′ly, adv. false′ness, n. - 1.See corresponding entry in Unabridged mistaken, incorrect, wrong, untrue.
- 2.See corresponding entry in Unabridged untruthful, lying, mendacious.
- 3.See corresponding entry in Unabridged insincere, hypocritical, disingenuous, disloyal, unfaithful, inconstant, perfidious, traitorous.
- 4.See corresponding entry in Unabridged misleading, fallacious.
- 5.See corresponding entry in Unabridged artificial, spurious, bogus, forged. False, sham, counterfeit agree in referring to something that is not genuine. False is used mainly of imitations of concrete objects; it sometimes implies an intent to deceive:false teeth; false hair.Sham is rarely used of concrete objects and usually has the suggestion of intent to deceive:sham title; sham tears.Counterfeit always has the implication of cheating; it is used particularly of spurious imitation of coins, paper money, etc.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers:: false /fɔːls/ adj - not in accordance with the truth or facts
- irregular or invalid: a false start
- untruthful or lying: a false account
- not genuine, real, or natural; artificial; fake: false eyelashes
- being or intended to be misleading or deceptive: a false rumour
- disloyal or treacherous: a false friend
- based on mistaken or irrelevant ideas or facts: false pride, a false argument
- (prenominal) (esp of plants) superficially resembling the species specified: false hellebore
- serving to supplement or replace, often temporarily: a false keel
- (of a note, interval, etc) out of tune
adv - in a false or dishonest manner (esp in the phrase play (someone) false)
Etymology: Old English fals, from Latin falsus, from fallere to deceiveˈfalsely adv ˈfalseness n |