truism

[ troo-iz-uhm ]
See synonyms for: truismtruistic on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a self-evident, obvious truth.

Origin of truism

1
First recorded in 1700–10; true + -ism

confusables note For truism

Contrary to what some people believe, the word truism is not a more elegant word for truth. While the word truth can occasionally be used to refer to a “truism,” since truisms are often true, the reverse—the use of truism to mean “truth”—is unwise. Truism stands for a certain kind of truth—a cliché, a platitude, something so self-evident that it is hardly worth mentioning. One can use it to accuse another writer or speaker of saying something so obvious or evident and trite that pointing it out is pointless. To say that a statement is a truism when you intend to compliment it as truthful, factual, even provable, will merely serve to confuse those who know that calling something a truism is not praise, but a criticism or insult.
Note, however, that truism is used in a technical sense in mathematics or philosophy for restating something that is already known from its terms or premises. Examples of such truisms include: “Men are not women” and “Since the circumference of a circle equals twice the radius multiplied by π (2π r ), it equals the diameter multiplied by π (π d ).”

Other words for truism

Other words from truism

  • tru·is·tic, tru·is·ti·cal, adjective

Words that may be confused with truism

  • truism , truth (see confusables note at the current entry)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use truism in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for truism

truism

/ (ˈtruːɪzəm) /


noun
  1. an obvious truth; platitude

Origin of truism

1
C18: from true + -ism

Derived forms of truism

  • truistic, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012