falsify
gb/fˈɔlsəfˌaɪ/ us/fˈɔlsəfˌaɪ/
C1
English
Senses
0 senses
Verb
formal
C1
action
1
make information deliberately false
to make information or documents false, usually to trick people
Usage pattern:
falsify [documents/records/data/evidence/results]
Common mistake:
Do not use falsify simply to mean “lie.” It usually takes an object, such as records, data, evidence, or documents.
Synonyms
forge (usually refers to making or copying a document, signature, or object illegally)
|
fabricate (emphasizes inventing something false rather than altering something real)
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manipulate (emphasizes unfairly changing data or facts to get a desired result)
|
doctor (informal; means to alter something dishonestly, especially records or images)
Antonyms
verify (means to check or show that information is true or accurate)
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authenticate (means to prove that a document, signature, or object is genuine)
Collocations
falsify records
|falsify documents
|falsify data
|falsify evidence
|falsify results
|falsify accounts
|falsify reports
|falsify information
|falsify figures
|falsify a signature
Themes
documents
|crime
|business
|research
|information
Examples
- The manager was fired for falsifying expense reports.
- Investigators found that the lab had falsified some of its test results.
- He was accused of falsifying documents to obtain a loan.
Learner examples
- She falsified the form to hide her real age.
- The company falsified its records.
Verb
technical
C1
action
2
prove something is false
to prove that an idea or statement is not true
Usage pattern:
falsify [a theory/claim/hypothesis/assumption]
Common mistake:
This meaning is often used in scientific or logical contexts. In everyday speech, prove wrong or disprove is more common.
Synonyms
disprove (more common in everyday English; means to prove that something is not true)
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refute (more formal; often used for rejecting an argument with evidence)
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debunk (often used when exposing a widely believed idea as false)
Antonyms
confirm (means to support or show that something is true)
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verify (means to prove or check that something is true or accurate)
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validate (means to support the correctness or usefulness of a theory, method, or result)
Collocations
falsify a theory
|falsify a hypothesis
|falsify a claim
|falsify an assumption
|falsify a prediction
|falsify a model
|falsify a belief
|attempt to falsify
|be difficult to falsify
Themes
science
|logic
|research
|evidence
Examples
- A single reliable counterexample can falsify the claim.
- The experiment was designed to falsify the hypothesis, not merely to support it.
- So far, no evidence has falsified the basic theory.
Learner examples
- The test did not falsify the theory.
- New facts may falsify an old idea.
Grammar
Dictionary form
falsify
IPA
GB/fˈɔlsəfˌaɪ/
US/fˈɔlsəfˌaɪ/
Syllables & stress
falsi - fy (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (falsi)
Word forms
Verb
- Base: falsify
- 3rd Person Singular: falsifies
- Present Participle: falsifying
- Past: falsified
Expressions
No expressions linked to this entry yet.