untrue

U1N1T1R1U1E1
/ʌnˈtɹuː/

adjective

False; not true.

“She says that I stole her necklace, but that's completely untrue.”

Meanings

adjectiveuntrue (comparative more untrue, superlative most untrue)

comparative more untrue · superlative most untrue · alternative obsolete untrew

  1. False; not true.

    She says that I stole her necklace, but that's completely untrue.

    3 more examples

    "I know it is true, for an untrue word never passed her lips."

    1886, Peter Christen Asbjø￵rnsen, translated by H.L. Brækstad, Folk and Fairy Tales, page 11

    This statement is untrue.

    2004, George Carlin, When Will Jesus Bring the Pork Chops?, New York: Hyperion Books, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 264

    The service aggressively maintained its position until I produced evidence proving it was untrue - including a recording of one of the calls with a senior MI5 officer.

    2025 July 6, Daniel De Simone, “How MI5 piled falsehood on falsehood in court in the case of a spy who abused women”, in BBC News, retrieved 06 Jul 2025

    Synonyms: false, inaccurate, incorrect, unveridical, wrong · Antonyms: true

  2. Not faithful or loyal.

    Let me be the one you come running to / I'll never be untrue

    1971, “Let's Stay Together”, performed by Al Green
    2 more examples

    Now you say you're sorry / For being so untrue / Well, you can cry me a river, cry me a river

    1953, Arthur Hamilton, “Cry Me a River”

    Tonight you didn't come / And my senses all were reeling / I had a certain scary feeling you'd been untrue

    2019, “The Night You Didn't Come”, in Becoming Peter Ivers, performed by Peter Ivers

    Synonyms: false, perfidious, unfaithful, booky, dastardly, disleal, disloyal, double-crossing · Antonyms: faithful

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveFalse; not true.

Opposite

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivenot according with the facts

Similar

adjectivenot true to an obligation or trust

Similar

adjectivenot accurately fitted; not level

adjective(used especially of persons) not dependable in devotion or affection; unfaithful

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-Indo-European*drewH-
  5. Proto-Germanic*triwwiz
  6. Proto-Germanic*untriwwiz
  7. Proto-West Germanic*untriuwī
  8. Old Englishuntrīewe
  9. Middle Englishuntrewe
  10. Englishuntrue

From Middle English untrewe, from Old English untrīewe, from Proto-West Germanic *untriuwī, from Proto-Germanic *untriwwiz. Equivalent to un- + true.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek ψευδής
  • ψευδής (pseudḗs)false
Bulgarian грешен, неверен
  • грешен (grešen)false
  • неверен (neveren)false
Danish usand
  • usandfalse
Dutch onwaar, ontrouw
  • onwaarfalse
  • ontrouwnot faithful or loyal
Esperanto malvera, nevera
  • malverafalse
  • neverafalse
Finnish totuudenvastainen, paikkaansapitämätön
  • totuudenvastainenfalse
  • paikkaansapitämätönfalse
  • uskotonnot faithful or loyal
German unwahr
  • unwahrfalse
Icelandic rangur, ósannur
  • rangurfalse
  • ósannurfalse
Irish ainfhíor
  • ainfhíorfalse
Italian falso
  • falsofalse
Latin falsus
  • falsusfalse
Māori tahupera, meho
  • tahuperafalse
  • mehofalse
  • hāwatewatefalse
  • rūkahufalse
  • rūpahufalse
Norwegian Bokmål usann
  • usannfalse
Portuguese falso
  • falsofalse
Spanish falso, incorrecto
  • falsofalse
  • incorrectofalse
  • inexactofalse
  • fatulofalse
Swedish osann
  • osannfalse
Turkish asılsız, yanlış
  • asılsızfalse
  • yanlışfalse
  • sadakatsiznot faithful or loyal

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with untrue

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

untrue. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/untrue

MLA

“untrue.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/untrue. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “untrue,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/untrue.

Source: untrue on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.