truthful

adjective

truth·​ful ˈtrüth-fəl How to pronounce truthful (audio)
Synonyms of truthfulnext
: telling or disposed to tell the truth
a truthful witness
truthfully
ˈtrüth-fə-lē How to pronounce truthful (audio)
adverb
truthfulness noun

Synonyms of truthful

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of truthful in a Sentence

We were not entirely truthful with her about where we went last night. I like keeping the house clean but, to be truthful, I hate vacuuming.
Recent Examples on the Web
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.
There’s something incredibly funny and truthful about using cannibalism to explore the horror and thrill of becoming a woman. — Vulture Editors, Vulture, 30 Oct. 2026 And that’s because Roseanne insisted on honest, truthful storytelling about this family. — Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 22 Oct. 2026 And when addressing the fact that there would be no allocution or explanation from Kohberger, the judge also questioned whether Kohberger even possessed the capacity to say something truthful. — Michael Ruiz, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2026 And that feels really human and real and truthful to me, and was really interesting to play. — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for truthful

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1567, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of truthful was circa 1567

Rhymes for truthful

See All Rhymes for truthful

Browse Nearby Words

truther
truthful
truth-function
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Truthful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/truthful. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

truthful

adjective
truth·​ful ˈtrüth-fəl How to pronounce truthful (audio)
: telling or being in the habit of telling the truth
truthfully
-fə-lē How to pronounce truthful (audio)
adverb
truthfulness noun
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of Pyrrhic

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Pwn, Skibidi, Girlboss and Other Words Added to the 2026 Scrabble Dictionary

The Words of the Week - Oct. 30

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All