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true

n.
A1 Beginner Oxford US //ˈtɹu// UK //tɹˈuː// true Archaic General-service

n. matching the facts or reality. You use this when something is correct and not a lie or a mistake.

n. consistent with fact or reality; not false or erroneous. Often used to describe statements, beliefs, or logical propositions.


SIMPLE

Is it true that you are moving to London?

CONTEXTUAL

The witness promised to tell the true story of what happened that night without leaving out any details.

COMPLEX

While the data appears promising, we must conduct further trials to determine if these results represent a true reflection of the drug's efficacy across a broader population.

Synonyms
Antonyms
Etymology 1

From Middle English trewe, from Old English trīewe, (Mercian) trēowe (“trusty, faithful”), from Proto-Germanic triwwiz (compare Saterland Frisian trjou (“honest”), Dutch getrouw and trouw, German treu, Norwegian and Swedish trygg (“safe, secure’”)), from pre-Germanic drewh₂yos, from Proto-Indo-European drewh₂- (“steady, firm”) (compare Irish dearbh (“sure”), Old Prussian druwis (“faith”), Ancient Greek δροόν (droón, “firm”)), extension of dóru (“tree”) (possibly also Proto-Slavic *sъdorvъ (“healthy”) from the same root). More at tree. For the semantic development, compare Latin robustus (“tough”) from robur (“red oak”).

Etymology 2

Variant of truce.

Usage

Commonly used as a predicative adjective after 'be' or as an attributive adjective before a noun.

Pitfall

It is very trueIt is trueIn its strict logical sense, true is a non-gradable adjective; something is either true or false, so it rarely takes intensifiers like 'very' or 'extremely'.

Idioms8 entries

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