Learn English – Antonym for lying

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Is there an antonym for lying?

The lyric "You keep lying, when you oughta be truthin'" in "These boots are made for walkin'" made me wonder: does a single word exist which means to speak the truth?

Best Answer

There is truthing, to truth (as in the lyrics) but it is nonstandard or a neologism.

Wiktionary has three definitions for the verb truth where the transitive usage is obsolete:

  1. (obsolete, transitive) To assert as true; to declare; to speak truthfully.
  2. To make exact; to correct for inaccuracy.
  3. (nonstandard, intransitive) To tell the truth.

OED definition and the latest citation:

intransitive. U.S. colloquial and regional. To tell the truth.

1993     J. Womack Random Acts of Senseless Violence 237     She was lying not truthing

Etymonline says that:

English and most other IE languages do not have a primary verb for "speak the truth," as a contrast to lie (v.).

You can see examples in literature and technical books also if you check Google Books. Some examples have different senses and the gerund form of the word seems to be more common. I've excluded the word ground from the search as there is the technical term "ground truthing" also.

Furthermore, Wikipedia includes this note about verbification under Conversion article:

Verbification may have a bad reputation with some English users because it is such a potent source of neologisms.

Although some neologistic products of verbification may meet considerable opposition from prescriptivist authorities, they are very common in colloquial speech, particularly specialized jargon, where words are needed to describe common actions or experiences.


Level (with) is a verb that can be considered but it is not an exact antonym. OED definition:

To be honest or truthful; to tell the truth, speak frankly, behave honestly or deal straightforwardly (with). slang (originally U.S.).

Other than that, aver might be a close contender but it is mainly used in legal context. MW definition:

to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause

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