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
  • According to the Financial Times, the erroneous internal transfer occurred in April 2024 and was missed by a payments employee and a second official assigned to check the transaction before it was cleared to be processed at the start of business the next day.
    Erin Clack, People.com, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Our inquiry to the hospital was due to an erroneous order of a separate inpatient stay request.
    Kara Nesvig, Allure, 27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • Though Google made fixes to address some of the most absurd answers, AI Overview still occasionally presents inaccurate information.
    Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 6 Mar. 2025
  • Improper payments happen when the agency either overpays or underpays benefits due to inaccurate information.
    Lorie Konish, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • Truth oaths are not just for the U.S. Internal Revenue Service but for many different companies that want to curb dishonest behavior or that ask employees to report information that is difficult to verify.
    IESE Business School, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Greta’s stealth revolution may look natural, but the change is weak and dishonest.
    Armond White, National Review, 5 Mar. 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
  • Other indicators consistently suggested Trump had the upper hand, such as weak Biden approval ratings, belief that the country was on the wrong track, and the strength of candidates on the main issue, inflation.
    Clifford Young, The Conversation, 7 Mar. 2025
  • Agency leaders must also be mindful of compliance—misleading ads not only attract the wrong people but also risk legal trouble.
    Arnold Sotelo, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • To illustrate, in the United Kingdom vaccinations took a considerable dip in the early 2000s after Wakefield’ false claims of a link between the MMR shot and autism were posted in the media.
    Joshua P. Cohen, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
  • In those documents, West discussed not only how to conduct experiments to implant false memories, instill specific mental disorders, and induce trance states, but also how to hide them.
    Randall Colburn, EW.com, 8 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Untruthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/untruthful. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

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