See Also: False(medicine)
False rib(health)
false(1)(dictionary)
false(2)(dictionary)
false rib(medicine)
false(dictionary)
false paracusis(medicine)
positive, false(medicine)
negative, false(medicine)
false-hearted(medicine)

false(1) (iou)



false noun, adjective, & adverb. OE.
[Latin falsum neut. of falsus, orig. pa. pple of fallere deceive; in Middle English reinforced by or newly formed from Old French fals, faus, fem. false (mod. faux, fausse) from Latin falsus.]
A. noun.
Fraud, deceit; esp. counterfeiting of money. OE-LME.
A deceitful person. Only in ME.
Something which is untrue or deceptive; (a) falsehood. arch. LME.
R. Greene Such reports more false than truth contain. Tennyson Earth's falses are heaven's truths.
b. adjective.
I. Deceptive, misleading.
Of a statement etc.: deliberately asserting what is known to be untrue: ME.
R. Maugham If we find your claim to be James Steede is false, if you're an impostor. D. M. Walker It is an offence..to apply a false or misleading trade description to any goods. Oxford Mail Roy Jenkins..dismisses Labour's plans..as a 'false prospectus'.
b. Of a person (esp. a witness), speech, etc.: deliberately untruthful; lying. ME.
Shakespeare Richard III The envious slanders of her false accusers.
Of a person, conduct, etc.: offering no firm basis for trust; disloyal, treacherous, (to). Also, insincere, affected. ME.
Pope They..false to Phoebus, bow the knee to Baal. C. Bront? Her promises are hollowher offers false. O. Wilde The false friend coming close to him so as to betray him with a kiss. Conan Doyle He won her with his title..and his false London ways. D. H. Lawrence They were all going about in a lugubrious false way, feeling they must not be natural or ordinary.
b. Of ground, a foundation, etc.: not firm, treacherous. L16-L17.
Dryden Graze not too near the Banks, my..sheep, the Ground is false.
Of an appearance, indication, etc.: deceptive, illusory; apparent, not real. Of a medium of vision: that distorts the object viewed through it. ME.
G. B. Shaw The ghastliness of a beautiful thing seen in a false light. L. Durrell Her gratitude..creates the illusion that she communicates with her fellow, but this is false.
Of a weight, measure, etc.: dishonestly contrived to give an incorrect reading. Of dice: loaded. ME.
Not genuine; sham, spurious; (of a coin, jewel, etc.) made in fraudulent imitation from base materials; (of a document) forged. ME.
Joseph Hall Criples that pretend false soares. G. Allen A swindler has two sets [of diamonds]one real, one false. J. le Carre The agent was given..a false passport.
b. Of a person: that pretends or is falsely claimed to be (what is denoted by the noun). ME.
R. South All pretended false Messiahs vanish'd upon the Appearance of Christ the true one.
c. Of a quality, action, etc.: simulated, feigned. ME.
I. Murdoch I could..imagine her face, pulled into that false sadness with glee looking through. Sunday Times I don't like people who have this false modesty. I know that I am beautiful.
d. Esp. of hair or other features of the body: worn as a disguise, to conceal a defect, for cosmetic reasons, etc. L16.
G. B. Shaw He claps on the false nose, and is..grotesquely transfigured. G. Greene A flashy and false blonde.
e. Of a name or other personal attribute: adopted in place of the true one to disguise one's identity etc.; assumed. L19.
R. A. Freeman Now, a common thief, he was sneaking in under a false name. A. Sillitoe He joined [the army] too young by giving a false age.
Of a manoeuvre, signal, etc.: intended to mislead an opponent, pursuer, etc. LME.
W. Dampier Had we enter'd the Port upon the false signal, we must have been taken. W. Blackstone Putting out false lights in order to bring any vessel into danger. A. Ainger Lamb had a love of..putting his readers on a false scent.
Of something naturally occurring: superficially resembling the thing properly so called but lacking its essential qualities or functions. Used esp. in names of plants, animals, and gems. LME.
false acacia, false brome, false cypress, false hellebore, false killer, false oat-grass, false scorpion, false topaz, false vampire, etc.
St G. J. Mivart The superior or false vocal cords. G. H. Williams False planes, apparent crystal faces, whose position is not that of true crystal planes.
Of a structure etc.: supplementing or substituted for the one properly so called. LME.
E. Waugh The dome was false..Its dome was merely an additional storey full of segmental rooms.
II. Mistaken, wrong.
Of an opinion, proposition, etc.: not in accordance with the truth or the facts; erroneous, untrue. ME.
Book of Common Prayer From all false doctrine, heresie, and schism..Good Lord, deliver vs. S. Johnson The same proposition cannot be at once true and false. Ld Macaulay It may perhaps correct some false notions. A. J. P. Taylor The cabinet acknowledged that its expectation of a short war had proved false.
Not conforming with orthodox practices or rules; incorrect, invalid. LME.
Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost I smell false Latin; 'dunghill' for unguem. Ld Macaulay The heralds tell us..that to put colours on colours, or metals on metals, is false blazonry. A. Powell You..look at life with a false perspective.
b. Of a musical note: wrong in pitch, out of tune. L15.
M. Keane His voice was as wrong to me as a false note in music.
Of a movement or manoeuvre: made at the wrong moment or in the wrong direction; misjudged. Freq. in false move, false step. E18.
F. Clissold A false step might have swept us below into an immense crevasse. Today One false move could cost Sally her life. T. Stoppard He tries to leave, the first of several false exits by him.
Of pride, a scruple, etc.: arising from mistaken notions; misguided. Also, of hope, confidence, etc.: having no substantial basis; unjustified. E18.
S. Hill Doctor Sparrow..may toss his head with all the false confidence of a mistaken diagnosis. Truck & Driver Mantova..had been lulled into a false sense of security. Times The facts should be spelled out..without false regard for the prickliness of..minorities.
Special collocations & comb.: false alarm: given without reason, either to mislead or under misapprehension of danger. false arrest US wrongful arrest. false bedding Geology = CROSS-BEDDING. false bitter-sweet: see BITTER-SWEET noun 4. false bottom a horizontal partition above the actual bottom of a vessel, box, etc., esp. one forming a secret compartment. false BROME. false card: played (esp. in bridge) so as to give a misleading impression of one's strength in the suit led. false-card verb intrans. play a false card. false ceiling a dummy ceiling fixed below the actual one, e.g. to accommodate wires, conduits, etc. false colours Nautical (freq. fig.) a flag to which one is not entitled, flown in order to deceive (esp. in under false colours). false conception Medicine (a) = MOLE noun4; (b) pseudopregnancy. false concord Grammar a breach of the rules governing the agreement of words within a sentence. false dawn a transient light which precedes the true dawn by about an hour, esp. in eastern countries; fig. a promising sign which comes to nothing. false economy a superficial saving that indirectly causes increased expenditure. false face (a) a mask; (b) a treacherous or two-faced person. false fire (a) a discharge of blank shot; (b) Nautical (Hist.) a kind of flare used as a night signal, or to mislead an enemy. false friend Linguistics a word or expression that has a similar form to one in one's native language, but a different meaning (e.g. English magazine and French magasin 'shop'). false front (a) see FRONT noun 8b; (b) a fa?ade used to conceal the height of a building. false gallop: see GALLOP noun. false god: falsely claimed to exist. false imprisonment Law unlawful restriction placed on a person's liberty or movements. false keel an additional keel attached to the bottom of a ship's keel to strengthen it. false key a skeleton key. false memory syndrome Psychology the condition of apparently recollecting an event which did not actually occur, especially one of childhood sexual abuse arising from suggestion during psychoanalysis. false molar: see MOLAR noun 1. false point a mistaken act of pointing by a game-dog. false-point verb intrans. (of a game-dog) point in error. false position: in which one is compelled to act in a manner inconsistent with one's true nature or principles. false pretences (orig. Law) misrepresentations designed to create an erroneous impression, esp. in order to obtain money (Hist.) or affection from someone. false quantity an incorrect use of a long for a short vowel or syllable, or vice versa (esp. in Latin verse). false quarter a horizontal crack in a horse's hoof, caused by injury to the coronet. false relation Music the simultaneous or adjacent appearance in different voices of two conflicting notes, freq. the major and minor third of the same triad. false start (in racing) a wrong start, necessitating return to the starting-point; fig. an unsuccessful attempt to begin something. false teeth removable artificial teeth made by or for a dentist to replace missing ones. false vampire: see VAMPIRE 3a. false whorl Botany an arrangement simulating a whorl; spec. a verticillaster. false witness arch. perjury (esp. in bear false witness, commit perjury). falsework temporary supports enabling the construction of a building etc. to proceed until it is self-supporting.
C. adverb.
Untruthfully. arch. ME.
Shelley If I speak false, then may my father perish.
Treacherously, deceitfully. Chiefly in play false s.v. PLAY verb. L16.
W. F. Harvey Your..wife has played false to you and has..read that letter, and betrayed its contents to your enemy.
Improperly, wrongly. arch. L16.
ring false s.v. RING verb1.
T. Moore False flew the shaft, though pointed well. See also.
falsely adverb ME.
falseness noun the quality of being false; an instance of this: ME.