Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective untruthful differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of untruthful are deceitful, dishonest, and mendacious. While all these words mean "unworthy of trust or belief," untruthful stresses a discrepancy between what is said and fact or reality.

an untruthful account of their actions

When is deceitful a more appropriate choice than untruthful?

The words deceitful and untruthful are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, deceitful usually implies an intent to mislead and commonly suggests a false appearance or double-dealing.

the secret affairs of a deceitful spouse

When would dishonest be a good substitute for untruthful?

While the synonyms dishonest and untruthful are close in meaning, dishonest implies a willful perversion of truth in order to deceive, cheat, or defraud.

a swindle usually involves two dishonest people

When might mendacious be a better fit than untruthful?

While in some cases nearly identical to untruthful, mendacious may suggest bland or even harmlessly mischievous deceit and when used of people often suggests a habit of telling untruths.

mendacious tales of adventure

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of untruthful Phelan, largely brushing off Covey's attacks as politically motivated and untruthful, has stuck to his reputation of having represented the district through several election cycles, running unopposed over the past several, and his work to advance border security legislation and funding last year. Hogan Gore, Austin American-Statesman, 20 May 2024 Our choice is the person who says the most outrageous, offensive and untruthful things, or the person who is subjected to those insults and lies. Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2024 This comes after Adrian Houser was moved to the bullpen after a poor start to the season, after Edwin Diaz was briefly taken out of the closer role and after and Jorge Lopez was designated for assignment for being untruthful and unremorseful in controversial postgame remarks last week. Abbey Mastracco, New York Daily News, 4 June 2024 So Trump's team really leaned into that to argue that Cohen had lied, had been untruthful on the stand. Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 21 May 2024 See All Example Sentences for untruthful
Recent Examples of Synonyms for untruthful
Adjective
  • The Trump administration’s focus on the false narrative that Politico received USAID funds follows an erroneous claim by Kyle Becker, a conservative political commentator, on Wednesday.
    Liam Reilly, CNN, 5 Feb. 2025
  • If the cost looks erroneous, please email content@bayareanewsgroup.com for more information.
    Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 3 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Maybe the most contentious issue ever to divide these two camps is whether or not to replace notoriously inaccurate human home plate umpires with less fallible machines.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 21 Feb. 2025
  • MRIs are generally considered safe for pregnant people but are not recommended, as the fetus may lead the results to be inaccurate.
    Suchandrima Bhowmik, Health, 20 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Out of all the ugly and dishonest things that Donald Trump said about Volodymyr Zelensky last week, the ugliest was not dishonest at all.
    Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 24 Feb. 2025
  • But the contestant also feels that some of those accusing her of dishonest gameplay need only look in the mirror.
    EW.com, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Fixes an issue where certain text hints in combat were incorrect when using a Friend's Support character Trailblazer.
    Ross Rosenfeld, Newsweek, 26 Feb. 2025
  • But a New York Times analysis of the $55 billion in savings claimed by DOGE found that the math is marred with accounting errors, incorrect assumptions, outdated data and other mistakes.
    Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Her unsettling command of the character — who was equal parts sweet, vulnerable, mendacious, and menacing — was one of the highlights of the series.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Two stand out: his profile and endorsement, in 2000, of Ralph Nader’s independent presidential campaign, and his early opposition to George W. Bush’s disastrous and mendacious invasion of Iraq.
    Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Sep. 2024
Adjective
  • This reveals Wrexham have still been creating more than the opposition, suggesting there wasn’t a lot wrong and that an upturn in individual form, as happened at Mansfield with the back three, will bring the necessary results to stay in the promotion hunt.
    Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
  • Putin was dead wrong to presume that Ukraine would crumble in the aftermath of his invasion.
    Ihor N. Stelmach, Hartford Courant, 22 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Post misconstrues video of Trump at Gabbard's swearing-in ceremony The Threads post appeared to draw a false conclusion from Salcedo's remarks about not seeing Gabbard being sworn in during the Feb. 12 edition of his program.
    Andre Byik, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2025
  • In 2018, McFarland was sentenced to six years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and making false statements to federal law enforcement, the US attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York confirmed to CNN at the time.
    Alli Rosenbloom, CNN, 24 Feb. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Untruthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/untruthful. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.

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