Communicating what one believes to be accurate without intentional deception.
Reach for it when praising honesty in a statement or a person's habitual speech
Her truthful account included the decision she regretted as well as the warning she gave.
| everyday |
|
|---|---|
| warm | |
| professional | |
| formal | |
| literary |
everyday
Fits when broad integrity or refusal to deceive is being praised
Careful Honest can describe conduct beyond speech, while truthful is precise about what was said.
everyday
Fits when a plain, uncomplicated account is appreciated
Careful Straightforward concerns style and can omit the moral weight of resisting a lie.
warm
Fits when the feeling or intention behind the words is genuine
Careful Sincere belief does not guarantee factual accuracy.
professional
Fits when correspondence with evidence is the only issue
Careful Accurate text can be produced without any moral choice or personal candor.
professional
Fits when uncomfortable information is shared openly
Careful Candid remarks may be selective or opinionated rather than factually complete.
formal
Fits when directness and absence of evasion matter
Careful Forthright can be blunt, and a direct speaker can still be wrong.
formal
Fits when unreserved disclosure is worth emphasizing
Careful Frank can excuse needless bluntness and does not itself prove accuracy.
literary
Fits when an elevated word for habitual truthfulness suits the prose
Careful Veracious is unfamiliar to many readers and sounds unnatural in a card.
truthful answer
The child gave a truthful answer even though it meant losing the privilege.
truthful account
A truthful account separated what the witness saw from what she later inferred.
remain truthful
He chose to remain truthful when a softer fiction would have protected his reputation.
Definitions and examples are written for this site. How words are chosen Recording: Neskaya, American accent, from Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Updated
Your browser isn't saving lists, so this one will be cleared when you leave the page.