post-truth
1 synonym for post-truth, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Adjective — Describing a political culture in which appeals to emotion and personal belief sway opinion more than verifiable facts do.
Synonyms
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
fact-resistant
How to use post-truth
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
post-truth politics
post-truth era
post-truth world
post-truth society
Journalistic and academic; almost always critical of what it describes.
Etymology
A compound of the prefix post- meaning 'after' and truth; here post- carries the sense 'belonging to a time when the thing has ceased to matter' rather than simply 'after'.
Full origin of post-truth →Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between post-truth and fake news?
Fake news is a thing — a fabricated story dressed up as reporting. Post-truth is a condition of the audience and the debate, in which such stories keep working even after they have been debunked because facts have stopped being decisive.
What is the difference between misinformation and disinformation?
Misinformation is false information spread by someone who believes it is true. Disinformation is false information spread deliberately by someone who knows it is false. Post-truth conditions make both harder to correct.
Does post-truth mean truth no longer exists?
No. The word describes a shift in what persuades people, not a claim that facts have stopped being facts. The point is that in public argument, verifiable evidence has lost ground to identity and emotion.
