(of a story or statement) of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as being true: an apocryphal story about a former president.
• (also Apocryphal)of or belonging to the Apocrypha: the Apocryphal Gospel of Thomas.
Canard
noun (falsehood)
1 an unfounded rumor or story: the old canard that LA is a cultural wasteland.
2 a small winglike projection attached to an aircraft forward of the main wing to provide extra stability or control, sometimes replacing the tail.
ORIGIN
mid 19th cent.: from French, literally ‘duck,’ also ‘hoax,’ from Old French caner ‘to quack.’
Chicanery
noun (falsehood)
the use of trickery to achieve a political, financial, or legal purpose: an underhanded person who schemes corruption and political chicanery behind closed doors.
ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: from French chicanerie, from chicaner ‘to quibble’ (see chicane) .
dissemble
(falsehood)
verb [ no obj. ]
conceal one's true motives, feelings, or beliefs: an honest, sincere person with no need to dissemble.
• [ with obj. ] disguise or conceal (a feeling or intention): she smiled, dissembling her true emotion.
DERIVATIVES
dissemblance |-bləns| noun.
dissembler |dəˈsemb(ə)lər| noun
Duplicity
(falsehood)
noun
1 deceitfulness; double-dealing.
2 archaic doubleness.
ORIGIN
late Middle English: from Old French duplicite or late Latin duplicitas, from Latin duplic- ‘twofold’ (see duplex) .
equivocate
falsehood
verb [ no obj. ]
use ambiguous language so as to conceal the truth or avoid committing oneself: [ with direct speech ] : “Not that we are aware of,” she equivocated.
DERIVATIVES
equivocator |əˈkwivəˌkādər| noun.
equivocatory |-kəˌtôrē| adjective
erroneous
falsehood
adjective
wrong; incorrect: employers sometimes make erroneous assumptions.
(of a product) made or used as a substitute, typically an inferior one, for something else: ersatz coffee.
• not real or genuine: ersatz emotion.
fallacious
falsehood |fəˈlāSHəs|
adjective
based on a mistaken belief: fallacious arguments.
DERIVATIVES
fallaciously |fəˈlāSHəslē| adverb.
fallaciousness |fəˈlāSHəsnəs| noun
Feigned
falsehhod |fānd|
adjective
simulated or pretended; insincere: her eyes widened with feigned shock.
feign |fān|
verb [ with obj. ]
pretend to be affected by (a feeling, state, or injury): she feigned nervousness.
• archaic invent (a story or excuse).
• [ no obj. ] archaic indulge in pretense.
Gulie
falsehood |ɡīl|
noun
sly or cunning intelligence: he used all his guile and guts to free himself from the muddle he was in.
DERIVATIVES
guileful |ˈɡīlf(ə)l| adjective.
guilefully |-fəlē| adverb
mendacious/mondacity
falsehood |menˈdāSHəs|
adjective
not telling the truth; lying: mendacious propaganda.
DERIVATIVES
mendaciously adverb.
perfidy
falsehood |ˈpərfədē| noun literary
deceitfulness; untrustworthiness.
ORIGIN
late 16th cent.: via French from Latin perfidia, from perfidus ‘treacherous,’ based on per- ‘to ill effect’ + fides ‘faith.’
prevaricate
falsehood |prəˈverəˌkāt|
verb [ no obj. ]
speak or act in an evasive way: he seemed to prevaricate when journalists asked pointed questions.
DERIVATIVES
prevarication |prəˌverəˈkāSH(ə)n| noun.
prevaricator |prəˈverəˌkādər| noun
ORIGIN
mid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘go astray, transgress’): from Latin praevaricat- ‘walked crookedly, deviated,’ from the verb praevaricari, from prae ‘before’ + varicari ‘straddle’ (from varus ‘bent, knock-kneed’).
specious
falsehood |ˈspēSHəs|
adjective
superficially plausible, but actually wrong: a specious argument.
• misleading in appearance, especially misleadingly attractive: the music trade gives Golden Oldies a specious appearance of novelty.
DERIVATIVES
speciously |ˈspēSHəslē| adverb.
speciousness |ˈspēSHəsnəs| noun
ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense ‘beautiful’): from Latin speciosus ‘fair,’ from species (see species) .
spurious
falsehood |ˈsp(y)o͝orēəs|
adjective
not being what it purports to be; false or fake: separating authentic and spurious claims.
• (of a line of reasoning) apparently but not actually valid: this spurious reasoning results in nonsense.
• archaic (of offspring) illegitimate.
DERIVATIVES
spuriously |ˈsp(y)o͝orēəslē| adverb.
spuriousness |ˈsp(y)o͝orēəsnəs| noun
ORIGIN
late 16th cent. (in the sense ‘born out of wedlock’): from Latin spurius ‘false’ + -ous.
