true (truː
)
Definitions
adjective
Word forms: truer, truest
- not false, fictional, or illusory; factual or factually accurate; conforming with reality
- (prenominal) being of real or natural origin; genuine; not synthetic ⇒
true leather
- unswervingly faithful and loyal to friends, a cause, etc ⇒
a true follower
- ((as collective noun ; preceded by (; preceded by the) ⇒
the loyal and the true
- unswervingly faithful and loyal to friends, a cause, etc ⇒
- faithful to a particular concept of truth, esp of religious truth ⇒
a true believer
- conforming to a required standard, law, or pattern ⇒
a true aim
a true fit
- exactly in tune ⇒
a true note
- (of a compass bearing) according to the earth's geographical rather than magnetic poles ⇒
true north
- biology conforming to the typical structure of a designated type ⇒
sphagnum moss is a true moss, Spanish moss is not
- physics not apparent or relative; taking into account all complicating factors ⇒
the true expansion of a liquid takes into account the expansion of the container
Compare apparent (sense 3) - See not true
- See true to life
noun
- correct alignment (esp in the phrases in true, out of true)
adverb
- truthfully; rightly
- precisely or unswervingly ⇒
he shot true
- biology without variation from the ancestral type ⇒
to breed true
verb
Word forms: trues, truing, trued
- (tr) to adjust so as to make true
Alternative Forms
ˈtrueness nounWord Origin
Old English triewe ; related to Old Frisian triūwe , Old Saxon, Old High German triuwi loyal, Old Norse tryggr; see trow, trustSynonyms
View thesaurus entryQuotations
"Many a true word is spoken in jest"
Translations
- British English:
true
If a story is true, it really happened.Everything she said was true.truː ADJECTIVE Everything she said was true.
- Spanish:
verdadero
adj verdadera
- French:
vrai
adj
- German:
wahr
adj
- Chinese: 真实的 adj
- Arabic: حَقِيقِيّ adj
- Portuguese: verdadeiro adj verdadeira
- Russian: истинный adj истинная
- Croatian: istinit adj istinita
- Czech: pravdivý adj
- Danish: sand adj
- Dutch: waar adj
- Finnish: tosi adj
- Greek: αληθινός adj αληθινή
- Italian: vero adj vera
- Japanese: 本当の no_posp
- Korean: 진실한 adj
- Norwegian: sann adj
- Polish: prawdziwy adj prawdziwa
- Brazilian Portuguese: verdadeiro adj verdadeira
- European Spanish:
verdadero
adj verdadera
- Swedish: sant adj
- Thai: ที่เป็นเรื่องจริง adj
- Turkish: gerçek adj
- Vietnamese: thật adj
Usage examples
Then she unconsciously touched her hand to the glittering wolf collar, reminding him sharply of her true nature.
, TREASON KEEP (2001)This knowledge enabled him to produce beautiful art, which was amazingly true to nature.
Country Life (2004)He knows they stand four matches from true hero worship at Anfield.
Irish Times (2002)I resolved to be honest and true , not to play along with some sort of truth.
Glasgow Herald (2001)We insist that our perception of our self, our life and our world is the only true reality.
, BEYOND FEAR (2002)