false

adjective

ˈfȯls How to pronounce false (audio)
Definition of falsenext
1
as in erroneous
not being in agreement with what is true early reports about the explosion contained much false information

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in faux
being such in appearance only and made with or manufactured from usually cheaper materials George Washington's false teeth were not made of wood but of elephant ivory and cow's teeth

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in counterfeit
being such in appearance only and made or manufactured with the intention of committing fraud arrested for selling false ID cards to teenagers

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4
as in mock
lacking in natural or spontaneous quality so much of the sympathy that the widow received was false and hypocritical, since it came from people who never liked her husband in the first place

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5
as in fraudulent
marked by, based on, or done by the use of dishonest methods to acquire something of value false advertising that claimed that the vegetables were organically grown when they weren't

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6
as in traitorous
not true in one's allegiance to someone or something false friends who deserted the prizefighter when all his money was gone

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7
as in misleading
tending or having power to deceive it turned out that the con man had made false promises of marriage to a dozen women

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Synonym Chooser

How is the word false different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of false are disloyal, faithless, perfidious, traitorous, and treacherous. While all these words mean "untrue to what should command one's fidelity or allegiance," false stresses the fact of failing to be true in any manner ranging from fickleness to cold treachery.

betrayed by false friends

When is disloyal a more appropriate choice than false?

Although the words disloyal and false have much in common, disloyal implies a lack of complete faithfulness to a friend, cause, leader, or country.

disloyal to their country

When is it sensible to use faithless instead of false?

The words faithless and false can be used in similar contexts, but faithless applies to any failure to keep a promise or pledge or any breach of allegiance or loyalty.

faithless allies

How are the words perfidious and faithless related as synonyms of false?

Perfidious adds to faithless the implication of an incapacity for fidelity or reliability.

a perfidious double-crosser

Where would traitorous be a reasonable alternative to false?

In some situations, the words traitorous and false are roughly equivalent. However, traitorous implies either actual treason or a serious betrayal of trust.

traitorous acts punishable by death

When can treacherous be used instead of false?

The synonyms treacherous and false are sometimes interchangeable, but treacherous implies readiness to betray trust or confidence.

a treacherous adviser

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of false James, at her arraignment, pleaded not guilty to one count each of bank fraud and making false statements to a financial institution. —Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2025 These claims are false as no Internal Revenue Service or Congressional officials have confirmed the checks. —Shelby Slade, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025 The Israeli Prison Service called the beating allegation false. —Karl Vick, Time, 23 Oct. 2025 Trump faced criminal counts of conspiring to obstruct justice, concealing documents and making false statements. —Aysha Bagchi, USA Today, 23 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for false
Recent Examples of Synonyms for false
  1. erroneous
  2. faux
  3. counterfeit
  4. mock
  5. fraudulent
  6. traitorous
  7. misleading
  8. inaccurate
Adjective
  • Bowlin told the Statesman that alert was created by crews working in the area, leading to an erroneous message uploading to the system.
    — Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 20 Oct. 2025
  • Some were hastily informed that their firings were erroneous, but the experience rattled the CDC, an agency tasked with overseeing the national response to seasonal respiratory illnesses at a time when those illnesses typically spike.
    — Michael Hiltzik, Twin Cities, 16 Oct. 2025
Definition of erroneous
Adjective
  • This faux Dunhill Fir is designed to look and feel like a tree plucked straight off the lot, without the single-season lifespan or mess of shedding needles.
    — Maggie Horton, PEOPLE, 22 Oct. 2025
  • That kind of skeuomorphism—the design of a digital interface to resemble a physical one, by, for example, adding a faux-metal texture to a calculator app—has been out of fashion for more than a decade, ever since Apple moved away from it in the early twenty-tens.
    — Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2025
Definition of faux
Adjective
  • The United Kingdom's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has warned that tourists visiting Ecuador, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Peru, Russia and Uganda may face a risk of methanol poisoning from counterfeit or contaminated alcohol.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Lululemon is stepping up its defense against the growing counterfeit trade.
    — Andre Claudio, Sourcing Journal, 23 Oct. 2025
Definition of counterfeit
Adjective
  • Continue reading … KEEPS ON GIVING – Joe Rogan and Andrew Schulz mock Harris' claim of people calling her most qualified presidential candidate.
    — , FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Well, this mock neck zipped jacket is a far more flattering, wearable option that’s currently sporting a $20 price tag and a full range of sizes.
    — Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 18 Oct. 2025
Definition of mock
Adjective
  • Websites with unusually long browser names or a lack of searchable company representatives or contact information could be fraudulent.
    — Tamia Fowlkes, jsonline.com, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Trump wasted no time in taking to Truth Social to lambast the video as fake and fraudulent.
    — Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal, 24 Oct. 2025
Definition of fraudulent
Adjective
  • Clarisse looks intimidating climbing out of a boat, as does Bushnell’s traitorous Luke, who wields a sharp-looking knife.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 24 July 2025
  • There's a delicious whodunit aspect to it, too, as the list of five potentially traitorous suspects includes the operative's own high-profile wife (Cate Blanchett).
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 4 July 2025
Definition of traitorous
Adjective
  • He has been criticized for making unscientific and misleading statements, including COVID-19 misinformation and promoting conspiracy theories, and affirming antisemitic, racist, and transphobic comments.
    — Miranda Jeyaretnam, Time, 28 Oct. 2025
  • Murphy said that’s misleading because many incidents never make it into official statistics.
    — Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 28 Oct. 2025
Definition of misleading
Adjective
  • The top issue was inaccurate or misleading results (39%), followed by a lack of context understanding (23%), and biased or inappropriate outputs (8%).
    — John Kell, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2025
  • As a result, Aspiration’s financial statements were inaccurate and reflected much higher revenue than the company in fact received, according to prosecutors.
    — City News Service, Oc Register, 21 Oct. 2025
Definition of inaccurate

Browse Nearby Words

fall (to)
false
falsehood
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Cite this Entry

“False.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/false. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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