ADJ
absolute, gospel
My grandmother's recipes are gospel truth in our family, and nobody dares change them.
honest
My friend always tells me the honest truth, even when it might hurt my feelings.
real
My grandmother always told us the real truth about what happened during the war.
full, whole
She finally admitted the full truth about what happened that night at the party.
exact, literal
naked, plain, simple
The naked truth about the accident came out during the police investigation.
underlying
awful, bitter, cruel, dreadful, hard, harsh, horrible, horrid, painful, sad, shocking, terrible, unpalatable, unpleasant, unwelcome
She finally had to face the harsh truth that her marriage was over.
objective
empirical, historical, moral, poetic, psychological, religious, scientific, spiritual
The ancient texts describe events that lack historical truth, yet they remain culturally significant.
unvarnished
She finally told him the unvarnished truth about what happened that night.
divine
QUANT
element, grain
Even though she exaggerated, there was an element of truth in her complaint about the service.
VERB + TRUTH
know
My sister finally told me the truth about what happened that day.
admit, speak, tell (sb)
I finally admitted the truth about what happened that night.
establish, discover, find out, get at, learn, reveal, uncover
After months of investigation, the detective finally uncovered the truth behind the mysterious disappearance.
guess | accept, acknowledge, face (up to)
doubt
Many scientists doubt the truth of that ancient legend after examining the archaeological evidence.
conceal, cover up, hide, suppress
She tried to conceal the truth about what happened that night.
TRUTH + VERB
be, lie
The real truth lies in what he actually did, not what he said.
come out, emerge
After months of investigation, the truth finally came out about what happened that night.
dawn on sb
It took a week before the truth finally dawned on him about what had really happened.
PREP
in ~
He seemed confident during the interview, but in truth he was quite nervous about the job.
~ about
She finally discovered the truth about what happened at the party that night.
~ behind
Nobody knew the truth behind his sudden decision to leave the company.
~ in
My friend didn't believe there was any truth in the gossip about the new teacher.
PHRASES
be economical with the truth
nothing could be further from the truth
People say money brings happiness, but nothing could be further from the truth.
the quest/search for (the) truth, a ring of truth
Despite years of investigation, the detectives continued their relentless search for the truth about what happened that night.
a seeker after truth
Throughout history, philosophers have been seekers after truth, questioning everything they were taught.
the truth of the matter
The truth of the matter is that nobody really knew how to fix the broken machine.
the truth will out
Eventually, the truth will out about who broke the vase, so you might as well tell us now.
ADJ
basic, central, common, essential, eternal, fundamental, general, great, important, profound, simple, ultimate, universal
The simple truth is that most people want to be happy and feel loved.
ancient
obvious, self-evident, undeniable
It's an obvious truth that regular exercise makes you feel better.
underlying
half, partial
She admitted she had only told her parents a half truth about where she spent the evening.
harsh, home, painful, unpalatable, unpleasant, unwelcome
She finally had to accept the harsh truth that her dream job wasn't going to happen.
necessary | moral, philosophical, scientific, spiritual | divine
VERB + TRUTH
establish, reveal, uncover | tell sb | accept, acknowledge, face up to
PREP
~ about
He finally admitted the hard truth about why he had left his job so suddenly.