true

[troo] /tru/
adjective, truer, truest.
1.
being in accordance with the actual state or conditions; conforming to reality or fact; not false:
a true story.
2.
real; genuine; authentic:
true gold; true feelings.
3.
sincere; not deceitful:
a true interest in someone's welfare.
4.
firm in allegiance; loyal; faithful; steadfast:
a true friend.
5.
being or reflecting the essential or genuine character of something:
the true meaning of his statement.
6.
conforming to or consistent with a standard, pattern, or the like:
a true copy.
7.
exact; precise; accurate; correct:
a true balance.
8.
of the right kind; such as it should be; proper:
to arrange things in their true order.
9.
properly so called; rightly answering to a description:
true statesmanship.
10.
legitimate or rightful:
the true heir.
11.
reliable, unfailing, or sure:
a true sign.
12.
exactly or accurately shaped, formed, fitted, or placed, as a surface, instrument, or part of a mechanism.
13.
honest; honorable; upright.
14.
Biology. conforming to the type, norm, or standard of structure of a particular group; typical:
The lion is a true cat.
15.
Animal Husbandry, purebred.
16.
Navigation. (of a bearing, course, etc.) determined in relation to true north.
17.
Archaic. truthful.
noun
18.
exact or accurate formation, position, or adjustment:
to be out of true.
19.
the true, something that is true; truth.
adverb
20.
in a true manner; truly; truthfully.
21.
exactly or accurately.
22.
in conformity with the ancestral type:
to breed true.
verb (used with object), trued, truing or trueing.
23.
to make true; shape, adjust, place, etc., exactly or accurately:
to true the wheels of a bicycle after striking a pothole.
24.
(especially in carpentry) to make even, symmetrical, level, etc. (often followed by up):
to true up the sides of a door.
Idioms
25.
come true, to have the expected or hoped-for result; become a reality:
She couldn't believe that her dream would ever come true.
Origin
before 900; Middle English trewe (adj. and adv.), Old English trēowe (adj.) loyal, trusty, honest (see trow, truce); akin to Dutch trouw, German treu, Old Norse tryggr, Gothic triggws
Related forms
trueness, noun
half-true, adjective
Synonyms
1. factual, veracious. See real1 . 3. honest. 4. trustworthy; staunch, constant, steady, unwavering. 7. faithful.
Examples from the web for true
  • Rather, the worry is of persistent price declines that characterise true deflation.
  • There are myths that humans have the ability to regenerate, and that is really only true to a certain extent.
  • Two is that it is true or half-true, or based in some truth but they had not heard it before.
  • F lower is technically a cyathium, consisting of fused bracts that form a cup around the much-reduced true flowers.
  • For seven decades, they were a curiosity, a relic of a lighter-than-air future that never quite came true.
  • That's a pure ideal of the law, of course, but it can be true of the best of lawyers.
  • It is true that a lot of websites are popping up thanks to easily available software.
  • And you say kidneys excrete bad stuff which is totally true.
  • According to the photographer, the amazingly bright reds in this photo are the true color of the rock.
  • Chan envisions an advising program that can help students find their true paths early in their college years.
British Dictionary definitions for true

true

/truː/
adjective truer, truest
1.
not false, fictional, or illusory; factual or factually accurate; conforming with reality
2.
(prenominal) being of real or natural origin; genuine; not synthetic: true leather
3.
  1. unswervingly faithful and loyal to friends, a cause, etc: a true follower
  2. (as collective noun; preceded by the): the loyal and the true
4.
faithful to a particular concept of truth, esp of religious truth: a true believer
5.
conforming to a required standard, law, or pattern: a true aim, a true fit
6.
exactly in tune: a true note
7.
(of a compass bearing) according to the earth's geographical rather than magnetic poles: true north
8.
(biology) conforming to the typical structure of a designated type: sphagnum moss is a true moss, Spanish moss is not
9.
(physics) not apparent or relative; taking into account all complicating factors: the true expansion of a liquid takes into account the expansion of the container Compare apparent (sense 3)
10.
(informal) not true, unbelievable; remarkable: she's got so much money it's not true
11.
true to life, exactly comparable with reality
noun
12.
correct alignment (esp in the phrases in true, out of true)
adverb
13.
truthfully; rightly
14.
precisely or unswervingly: he shot true
15.
(biology) without variation from the ancestral type: to breed true
verb trues, truing, trued
16.
(transitive) to adjust so as to make true
Derived Forms
trueness, noun
Word Origin
Old English triewe; related to Old Frisian triūwe, Old Saxon, Old High German triuwi loyal, Old Norse tryggr; see trow, trust
Word Origin and History for true
adj.

Old English triewe (West Saxon), treowe (Mercian) "faithful, trustworthy," from Proto-Germanic *trewwjaz "having or characterized by good faith" (cf. Old Frisian triuwi, Dutch getrouw, Old High German gatriuwu, German treu, Old Norse tryggr, Gothic triggws "faithful, trusty"), perhaps ultimately from PIE *dru- "tree," on the notion of "steadfast as an oak." Cf., from same root, Lithuanian drutas "firm," Welsh drud, Old Irish dron "strong," Welsh derw "true," Old Irish derb "sure."

Sense of "consistent with fact" first recorded c.1200; that of "real, genuine, not counterfeit" is from late 14c.; that of "agreeing with a certain standard" (as true north) is from c.1550. Of artifacts, "accurately fitted or shaped" it is recorded from late 15c.; the verb in this sense is from 1841. True-love (adj.) is recorded from late 15c.; true-born first attested 1590s. True-false as a type of test question is recorded from 1923.

Idioms and Phrases with true

true

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