false
/fɔls/adjective, verb, adverb, noun
false is spelled F-A-L-S-E: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, false means “Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in false?
| Letters | 5: F-A-L-S-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 43 times per million words; the 2,339th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is false?
False appears 43 times per million words in written English, the 2,339th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce false?
- UK /fɔːls/
- UK /fɒls/
- US /fɔls/
False has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-uk-false.ogg, En-us-false.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with false?
No other word on PlainSpell ends in the same sounds as false (/ɔls/).
Spelled with the same letters in another order: fasel.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of false
- falser comparative
- falsest superlative
- falses present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- falsing participle, present
- falsed participle, past
- more false comparative
- most false superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does false mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Untrue, not factual, factually incorrect.
- 2
Based on factually incorrect premises.
false legislation, false punishment
- 3
Spurious, artificial.
false teeth
- 4
Of a state in Boolean logic that indicates a negative result.
- 5
Uttering falsehood; dishonest or deceitful.
a false witness
- 6
Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous.
a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises
- 7
Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous.
a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar
- 8
Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
verb
- 1
To incorrectly decode noise as if it were a valid signal.
- 2
To begin a race before being instructed to do so; to do a false start.
- 3
obsoleteTo violate, to betray (a promise, an agreement, one’s faith, etc.).
- 4
obsoleteTo counterfeit, to forge.
- 5
obsoleteTo make false, to corrupt from something true or real.
adverb
- 1
In a dishonest and disloyal way; falsely.
noun
- 1
One of two options on a true-or-false test, that not representing true.
The student received a failing grade for circling every true and false on her quiz.
adjective
- 1
one of two states of a Boolean variable; logic 0.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate false?
Wiktionary records one abbreviation of false: F.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
False in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | faux, incorrect , artificiel |
| German | falsch, unwahr , unecht |
| Portuguese | falso, errado , artificial |
| Spanish | falso, sacha, ful , postizo |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does false come from?
From Middle English false, fals, from Old English fals (“false; counterfeit; fraudulent; wrong; mistaken”), from Latin falsus (“counterfeit, false; falsehood”), perfect passive participle of fallō (“deceive”). Reinforced in Middle English by Anglo-Norman and Old French fals, faus. Compare Scots fals, false, Saterland Frisian falsk, German falsch, Dutch vals, Swedish and Danish falsk; all from Latin falsus. Displaced native Middle English les, lese, from Old English lēas (“false”); See lease, leasing. Doublet of faux.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).