■ adjective
1》 not according with truth or fact.
↘invalid or illegal: ~ imprisonment.
2》 deliberately intended to deceive.
↘artificial.
3》 not actually so; illusory.
↘used in names of plants, animals, and gems that superficially resemble the thing properly so called, e.g. ~ scorpion .
4》 disloyal.
Phrases
play someone ~ deceive or cheat someone.
Derivatives
~ly adverb
~ness noun
falsity noun
Origin
OE fals 'fraud', from L. falsum 'fraud', neut. past participle of fallere 'deceive'; reinforced or re-formed in ME from OFr. fals , faus '~'.