Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Truthfulness.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun rare, archaic Truthfulness.
  • noun neologism, humorous The quality of seeming to be true, even if this contradicts evidence or rational thought

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

truthy +‎ -ness. First attested in 1824. Modern sense created in the 2005 premiere episode of The Colbert Report.

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Examples

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  • and Merriam-Webster Word of the Year 2006

    December 9, 2006

  • I really loathe this word.

    December 11, 2006

  • colbert/stewart 2008!

    December 14, 2006

  • don't forget about FACTINESS!

    January 11, 2007

  • of or having the appearance or quality of truth without necessarily adhering to facts, wisdom, or knowledgeable consensus.

    June 8, 2009

  • Truthiness is something with the "feel" of truth, as in something one believes to be true in one's "gut" regardless of reference to one's brain, to research, or to proven facts or established theories. Hence, the statement that dinosaurs and humans roamed the earth together when it was created 5,000 years ago has the quality of "truthiness" to those who "feel" this statement is correct. Truthiness is anathema to the the fact-based and reality-based community. Stephen Colbert, in originating this word, has poked a sharp stick at those in public roles who have claimed to "create their own reality" and who have themselves eschewed "fact-based" reality. This satire is so brilliant that most people who live in "media-based reality" (that is, most people) don't understand it.

    July 7, 2009

  • Haven't really seen this one in a while. Is it sticking?

    June 19, 2010

  • Don't know, but I'm sticking to my story.

    June 20, 2010

  • Related to factoid.

    July 11, 2014

  • The definition should describe how truthiness refers to something that "feels" true, or have an aura of factualness, when they are actually not true at all.

    September 15, 2015

  • The new Howl.fm podcast 'Words of the Years" dicusses the inclusion of truthiness in 2005 by the American Dialect Society and in 2006 by Merriam-Webster. http://howl.fm/audio/playlists/4163/words-of-the-years

    "Stephen Colbert's word for truth based on intuition not evidence or reason."

    September 15, 2015