false

 
Pronunciation: /fɔːls, fɒls/

adjective

  • 1not according with truth or fact; incorrect: he was feeding false information to his customers the allegations were false
  • not according with rules or law: false imprisonment
  • 2made to imitate something in order to deceive: the trunk had a false bottom a false passport
  • artificial: false eyelashes
  • not sincere: a horribly false smile
  • 3illusory; not actually so: sunscreens give users a false sense of security
  • [attributive] used in names of plants, animals, and gems that superficially resemble the thing properly so called, e.g. false oat.
  • 4disloyal; unfaithful: a false lover

Phrases

false position

a situation in which one is compelled to act in a manner inconsistent with one’s true nature or principles.

Derivatives

falsely

adverb

falseness

noun

Origin:

Old English fals 'fraud, deceit', from Latin falsum 'fraud', neuter past participle of fallere 'deceive'; reinforced or re-formed in Middle English from Old French fals, faus 'false'