Meanings
alternative if truth be told
- idiomaticUsed when admitting something one might otherwise lie about, e.g. to keep up appearances or be polite.
I'm not sure if I can do this, truth be told.
3 more examples
Actually, truth be told, I just don't like you.
Well, certainly there are those who are more responsible than others - and they will be held accountable - but again, truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror.
2006, V For Vendetta (movie adaptation)When I opened my laptop on Tuesday to take my first run at GPT-4, the new artificial intelligence language model from OpenAI, I was, truth be told, a little nervous.
2023 March 15, Kevin Roose, “GPT-4 Is Exciting and Scary”, in The New York TimesSynonyms: admittedly, frankly, to be honest, to tell the truth, truth to tell
Synonyms & antonyms
interjectionUsed when admitting something one might otherwise lie about, e.g. to keep up appearances or be polite.
Origin
Translations
Czech popravdě řečeno
- popravdě řečenowhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Dutch eerlijk gezegd
- eerlijk gezegdwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Finnish totta puhuen, toden sanoakseni
- totta puhuenwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- toden sanoakseniwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- totta puhuakseniwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- rehellisesti sanottunawhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
French pour être honnête
- pour être honnêtewhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
German ehrlich gesagt, in Wahrheit
- ehrlich gesagtwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- in Wahrheitwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- um ehrlich zu seinwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Hungarian az igazat megvallva
- az igazat megvallvawhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Italian a dire il vero, a onor del vero
- a dire il verowhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- a onor del verowhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Polish prawdę mówiąc
- prawdę mówiącwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Portuguese verdade seja dita, para falar a verdade
- verdade seja ditawhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- para falar a verdadewhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- para ser sincerowhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Romanian adevărul fie spus
- adevărul fie spuswhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Russian е́сли че́стно, что греха́ таи́ть
- е́сли че́стно (jésli čéstno)when admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- что греха́ таи́ть (što grexá taítʹ)when admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Slovak pravdu povediac
- pravdu povediacwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Spanish la verdad sea dicha, a decir verdad
- la verdad sea dichawhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
- a decir verdadwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Swedish om sanningen ska fram
- om sanningen ska framwhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Turkish doğrusunu söylemek gerekirse
- doğrusunu söylemek gerekirsewhen admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Ukrainian пра́вду ка́жучи
- пра́вду ка́жучи (právdu kážučy)when admitting something one might otherwise lie about
Cite this entry
truth be told. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/truth%20be%20told
“truth be told.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/truth%20be%20told. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “truth be told,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/truth%20be%20told.
Source: truth be told on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.