true
1 true
2 not true
3 believing that sth is true
4 not believing that sth is true
5 showing that sth is true
6 saying what you believe to be true
what you think about sth OPINION
1 true
- if sth is correct and agrees with the facts, it is true
Is it true that they're going to get married? ◎ That's simply not true! ◎ a true story
- the state or quality of being true: truth (noun U)
Why can't you just tell me the truth? ◎ The truth is that I don't have enough money to pay for it. ◎ There is a lot of truth in old proverbs.
- actually existing; not imagined: real
It's a real life story about a family who emigrated to America in the last century.
- actually true, not what may appear to be true: real (adverb really); noun (U): reality
She said she didn't want a holiday, but the real reason is she can't afford one. ◎ Is that really your car? ◎ He tells people he's a writer, but in reality he's unemployed.
※ more on things really existing REAL/EXISTING
※ facts
- something that you know has happened or is true: fact
a scientific fact ◎ Is that a fact? I am surprised! ◎ Do you know that for a fact? ◎ You must face facts and accept the situation.
- true things: fact (noun U)
This story is based on fact.
- a fact or idea that is true, especially one connected with science or religion: truth
scientific truths
- based on or containing facts: factual (adverb factually)
a factual account of the events ◎ His statement was factually incorrect.
- facts that are heard, told or discovered about sth: information (on/about sb/sth)
I'm collecting information on the causes of the strike. ◎ Do you have any information about tours to Loch Ness?
※ more on information INFORMATION
- true or having no mistakes: right, correct (adverb correctly)
You're right! ◎ If you want to argue about something, you have to get your facts right first. ◎ What's the correct answer? ◎ Only one child answered correctly.
- absolutely correct: exact (adverb exactly)
I can't remember the exact cost, but it is more or less ※£250. ◎ It's an exact copy of the original. ◎ Can you tell us exactly what happened?
※ more on being absolutely correct EXACT/APPROXIMATE
※ obviously true
- if sth is easily seen or understood, it is clear (adverb clearly), obvious (adverb obviously)
Is that clear? ◎ Well, clearly, it will have to be done again. ◎ It's rather obvious that she isn't interested in you! ◎ We obviously can't do anything about it now.
- clearly true: undeniable (adverb undeniably)
Well, it's undeniable that he's very good at his job, but he is not easy to work with. ◎ undeniably true
- fairly obvious: evident, apparent
Her unhappiness was evident to anyone who knew her.
- if you do not need to prove or explain sth, it is self-evident
a self-evident truth
※ generally true
- true in most cases: generally (speaking), in general, on the whole
Generally speaking, northern Europeans are taller than southern Europeans. ◎ On the whole, he had done very well in his exams.
- to speak in general about sth: generalize (about sth); noun: generalization
You can't really generalize about this kind of situation. ◎ to make generalizations
2 not true
- if sth is not true, it is false (adverb falsely), untrue
Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world: true or false? ◎ That's totally untrue. I never said anything of the kind.
- not true; not correct: wrong (adverb wrongly), incorrect (adverb incorrectly)
You were wrong about her name. It's Jane not Jean. ◎ Wrong! Try again. ◎ I'm afraid your information is incorrect. ◎ The sentence had been incorrectly translated.
- sth that is wrong or not correct: mistake (noun C/U); adjective: mistaken
to make a mistake ◎ a mistaken idea/opinion/conclusion
※ more on mistakes MISTAKE
※ making sb believe what is not true
- to say or write sth that you know is not true: lie (about sth)
I had to lie about what I had been doing because it was a surprise for her birthday. ◎ Don't lie to me. What really happened?
- a statement that sb makes but which they know is not true: lie
Don't tell lies!
- to make sb think or believe sth that is not true: deceive sb (into thinking/believing sth), mislead* sb (into thinking/believing sth); the act of deceiving sb: deceit (noun U), deception (noun U)
You've been deliberately deceiving me! ◎ I was shocked by this deception.
- to seem to do sth or to be sth in order to deceive sb: pretend (to do sth), pretend (that) ※¦
Oh, don't believe him. He's just pretending! ◎ They pretended to be soldiers on a secret mission.
※ more on telling lies and deceiving people LIE, DECEIVE
- to make sth seem larger, better, more important, more exciting, etc than it really is: exaggerate (sth); noun (C/U): exaggeration
He exaggerated when he said we climbed a mountain - it was only a hill! ◎ Don't listen to her - she always exaggerates. ◎ It's a bit of an exaggeration to say that all politicians are dishonest.
3 believing that sth is true
- to think that sb is telling the truth or that sth is true: believe sb/sth; noun (C/U): belief
I'm sorry; I just don't believe you. ◎ When the news was first announced, nobody could believe it. ◎ He gave me the letter in the mistaken belief that it was addressed to me.
- if you believe sth very strongly, you are sure/certain of it; noun (C/U): certainty
- if you have facts which tell you that sth is true, you know* it; noun (U): knowledge
- if you think that sth is probably not true, you doubt it; noun (C/U): doubt; adjective: doubtful
※ knowing sth KNOW
- doubt and certainty POSSIBLE
- the reasons you have for believing that sth is true: grounds for sth
What grounds do you have for supecting him?
- to accept sth as being true: take* sth for granted
I take it for granted that you've read the course handbook.
- to feel sure that sb/sth exists or is true: believe in sb/sth; noun (C/U): belief (in sb/sth)
I believe in God. ◎ You don't really believe in astrology, do you? ◎ belief in ghosts ◎ a strong belief in Buddhism/socialism
※ believing in God and religion RELIGION
- political beliefs POLITICS
- to believe that sth is true even though you cannot prove it: assume sth; noun: assumption
I assumed that he had gone to London. ◎ to make a false/mistaken/reasonable assumption
- to make sb see that sth is true: convince sb (of sth), convince sb that ※¦
We are not convinced of his honesty. ◎ She convinced me that she would do the job well.
- a person or thing that can make sb believe sth is convincing (adverb convincingly)
convincing arguments ◎ He spoke very convincingly about his policies.
- if sth is easy to believe, it is credible (adverb credibly), believable; noun (U): credibility
a credible explanation/story ◎ the credibility of the witness
- something that sounds true is reasonable, plausible
a reasonable excuse ◎ He came up with a very plausible story to explain his absence.
※ false belief
- if you believe things too easily, you are credulous, gullible; noun (U): credulity
credulous people who believe what advertisements say ◎ I'm afraid he's very gullible and may be persuaded to hand over the money.
- if you are too ready to believe what other people say because you are not experienced enough, you are naive (adverb naively); the quality of being naive: naivety (noun U)
I think her behaviour showed a lot of naivety.
- a belief in things like magic, ghosts, etc that cannot be explained by reason or science: superstition (noun C/U); adjective: superstitious
There's a superstition that black cats are lucky. ◎ a superstitious belief
4 not believing that sth is true
- to think that sb is not telling the truth or that sth is not true: disbelieve sb/sth; noun (U): disbelief
There's no reason to disbelieve her story. ◎ He stared at me in disbelief.
- difficult to believe: unlikely
an unlikely explanation
- surprising and difficult to believe: incredible (adverb incredibly), unbelievable (adverb unbelievably)
an incredible escape ◎ Incredibly, she has managed to persuade him.
- impossible to believe: inconceivable
It's inconceivable that he could have found the money.
- if you find it very difficult to believe sth, you are incredulous; noun (U): incredulity
I stared at him in incredulity.
5 showing that sth is true
- to investigate or look at sth in order to be sure that sth is true or correct: check (sth)
The editor asked her to check that the story was true.
- to make sb believe that sth is true: prove* sth (to sb), prove* (that ※¦)
Can you prove that he stole the money?
- to make sth clear: show* sth, (more formal) demonstrate sth
She couldn't find the receipt, so she wasn't able to show that she'd bought the jumper in their shop. ◎ These figures demonstrate that standards in schools are rising.
- a piece of information that shows that sth is true: proof (noun U)
They asked me if I had any proof of who I was. ◎ That may be your opinion, but where is the proof? ◎ I now have conclusive (= definite) proof that he stole the picture.
- information that helps to show whether sth is true or not: evidence (noun U)
The police did not have enough evidence to be able to arrest him.
- to prove that sth is not true: disprove* sth
No one has succeeded in disproving Einstein's theory of relativity.
6 saying what you believe to be true
- to say only things which you believe to be true: tell* the truth
She says she doesn't know him, but I don't think she's telling the truth.
- a person who tells the truth is honest (adverb honestly); the quality of being honest: honesty (noun U)
She's a very honest person. ◎ At least he had the honesty to admit that he broke it.
- if sb or sth gives the truth about sth, they are truthful (adverb truthfully)
She gave a truthful account of what had happened.
※ more on being honest HONEST
- to say that you are sure sth is true or will happen: assure sb (that) ※¦, swear (that) ※¦; noun: assurance
I swear I've never met her before. ◎ He gave me his personal assurance that the information was true.
- to say that sth is true, even if you are not able to prove it: claim that ※¦, claim to do/be sth; noun: claim
He claimed that he had done it many times before. ◎ They claimed to be the original owners of the land.
- to say or show that sth is true or right: confirm sth, confirm that ※¦; noun (C/U): confirmation
The doctor confirmed that she was pregnant. ◎ I need confirmation that those dates are correct.
- to say very strongly that sth is true: insist that ※¦; noun (U): insistence
He insisted that he had completed the work and that he had not been paid for it.
- to think the same thing as another person: agree (with sb) (on/about sth), agree with sth; noun (U): agreement
I don't agree with you that we should build more roads. ◎ She doesn't agree with experiments on animals. ◎ Managers and workers found it hard to reach agreement.
※ agreeing or not agreeing with sb DISCUSS/ARGUE
- to say that sth is not true: deny sth, deny that ※¦; noun: denial
He accused me of taking the money. I denied it. ◎ You can't deny that you have met this man. ◎ No one believed his denials.
- to say sth which means that sth else is not true: contradict (sb/sth)
This contradicts your earlier statement.
- to emphasize that sth is true, you can say in (actual) fact, as a matter of fact, actually, the fact is (that) ※¦
In actual fact we're having the party on Friday, not Saturday. ◎ I thought the film would be boring but in fact it was great. ◎ As a matter of fact she's here. ◎ What I actually said was that no one deserved a pay increase. ◎ The fact is that you have made a mistake and you won't admit it.
- according to what people say (but which may not be true): apparently
Apparently, he owns more than half of the company.
※ MORE ...
- if sth is obviously true, you can say it goes without saying (that ※¦)
It goes without saying, of course, that taking legal advice is going to cost you a lot of money.
- to be obviously true: speak* for itself
The figures speak for themselves. We can't afford to buy it.
- if something is probably not entirely true or accurate, you take* it with a pinch of salt
You should take everything he says with a pinch of salt - he loves to exaggerate.
- based only on facts and not influenced by personal opinion or emotion: objective (adverb objectively); opposite: subjective (adverb subjectively)
We tried to give an objective account of what had happened. ◎ Look at the facts objectively. ◎ a very subjective view
- to officially or formally state that sth is correct or true: certify sth, certify that ※¦
The inspector certified that the work had been done properly and that it met the required standard.
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