# Verb for telling the truth **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 2, 2007, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241 "2007-07-02T16:28:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/21 "2007-07-03T00:05:30Z")
And then, what do you mean by “steal?” Because steal is also defined as “sneak.” It’s no the same as walking boldly into the 7-11 and “liberating” a Slurpee. So by opposite do you mean, “to procure with stealth” or do you mean simply “to unrightfully appropriate?” Clearly there is work to do. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/22 "2007-07-03T00:24:26Z")
[Aver (from Latin ad- + verus true)](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/aver) is about as close as it gets: 1 a : to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/23 "2007-07-03T01:16:30Z")
Antimendicate? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/24 "2007-07-03T01:21:14Z")
There are quite a few multi-part verbs in English. Why shouldn’t “utter the truth” be among those? ---
**Author:** ![Lazlo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lazlo/32/9678_2.png) [@Lazlo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lazlo)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/25 "2007-07-03T05:13:26Z")
[Affirm / affirmed?](http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/affirm) ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/26 "2007-07-03T07:07:58Z")
[QUOTE=The Chao Goes Mu] _“Truthin’” \* As Nancy Sinatra sang it "You’ve been lyin’ when you outta been_ truthin’\*" From _These Boots Were Made For Walkin’_ [/QUOTE] Beat me to it, damn you. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/27 "2007-07-03T12:51:32Z")
Truthify. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/28 "2007-07-03T13:22:21Z")
[QUOTE=spoke-] [Aver (from Latin ad- + verus true)](http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/aver) is about as close as it gets: 1 a : to verify or prove to be true in pleading a cause [/QUOTE] I second this one. The word “aver” appears in legal affidavits all the time, as in “The affiant hereby avers that…” In such a case, aver has the meaning above, which basically means “tells the truth”. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2007, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241/29 "2007-07-03T14:17:10Z")
**Veredict**. Okay, I made it up. But so what? It comes from the same combination of Latin roots as “verdict” – in fact, it seems to be an alternate spelling of the word in some places. So if one accepts the word “contradict” as a template (against + to speak), than one may, with little fear of being misinterpreted, speak of someone _veredicting_…speaking truly. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/verb-for-telling-the-truth/410241.md?page=1)