- true
- [[t]tru͟ː[/t]]
♦♦truer, truest1) ADJ-GRADED: oft it v-link ADJ that If something is true, it is based on facts rather than being invented or imagined, and is accurate and reliable.
Everything I had heard about him was true...
He said it was true that a collision had happened...
The film tells the true story of a group who survived in the Andes in sub-zero temperatures.
Ant:untrue, false2) ADJ: ADJ n (emphasis) You use true to emphasize that a person or thing is sincere or genuine, often in contrast to something that is pretended or hidden.I allowed myself to acknowledge my true feelings...
The true cost often differs from that which had first been projected...
He argues that he is the true candidate of change.
Syn:3) ADJ: ADJ n (approval) If you use true to describe something or someone, you approve of them because they have all the characteristics or qualities that such a person or thing typically has.This country professes to be a true democracy...
Maybe one day you'll find true love...
The ability to work collaboratively is a true test of leadership...
I think he's a true genius.
Syn:4) ADJ-GRADED: v-link ADJ of/for n If you say that a fact is true of a particular person or situation, you mean that it is valid or relevant for them.I accept that the romance may have gone out of the marriage, but surely this is true of many couples...
Expenditure on health in most of these countries has gone down, and the same is true for education.
5) ADJ-GRADED: usu it v-link ADJ You can use true in order to admit that a fact or opinion is real or valid before indicating that you think that it is not important or relevant in the circumstances.It's true she gets madly impatient with him, but what mother doesn't?...
The state, it is true, gave money towards their wages. Nevertheless the whole process had not been organized properly...
`Things are a bit different in my country.' `True, true, but we're not in your country, are we?'
6) ADJ: v-link ADJ to n If you are true to someone, you remain committed and loyal to them. If you are true to an idea or promise, you remain committed to it and continue to act according to it.David was true to his wife...
India has remained true to democracy...
She's been true to her word from day one.
Syn:7) PHRASE: V inflects If a dream, wish, or prediction comes true, it actually happens.Many of his predictions are coming true...
Owning a place of their own is a dream come true for the couple.
8) PHRASE: V inflects, oft PHR for n If a general statement holds true in particular circumstances, or if your previous statement holds true in different circumstances, it is true or valid in those circumstances. [FORMAL]This law is known to hold true for galaxies at a distance of at least several billion light years.
9) PHRASE: v-link PHR If you say that something seems too good to be true, you are suspicious of it because it seems better than you had expected, and you think there may something wrong with it that you have not noticed.On the whole the celebrations were remarkably good-humoured and peaceful. Indeed, it seemed almost too good to be true.
10) PHRASE: v-link PHR (approval) If you say that something such as a story or a film is true to life, you approve of it because it seems real.The opening scenes of this movie are just not true to life.
English dictionary. 2008.
