FALSE, a. [L. falsus, from fallo, to deceive. See Fall and Fail.]

1. Not true; not conformable to fact; expressing what is contrary to that which exists, is done, said or thought. A false report communicates what is not done or said. A false accusation imputes to a person what he has not done or said. A false witness testifies what is not true. A false opinion is not according to truth or fact. The word is applicable to any subject physical or moral.
2. Not well founded; as, a false claim.
3. Not true; not according to the lawful standard; as, a false weight or measure.
4. Substituted for another; succedaneous; supposititious; as, a false bottom.
5. Counterfeit; forged; not genuine; as, false coin; a false bill or note.
6. Not solid or sound; deceiving expectations; as, a false foundation. False and slippery ground. Dryden.
7. Not agreeable to rule or propriety; as, false construction in language.
8. Not honest or just; not fair; as, false play.
9. Not faithful or loyal; treacherous; perfidious; deceitful. The king's subjects may prove false to him. So we say, a false heart.
10. Unfaithful; inconstant; as a false friend; a false lover; false to promises and vows. The husband and wife proved false to each other.
11. Deceitful; treacherous; betraying secrets.
12. Counterfeit; not genuine or real; as, a false diamond.
13. Hypocritical; feigned; made or assumed for the purpose of deception; as, false tears; false modesty. The man appears in false colors. The advocate gave the subject a false coloring. False fire, a blue flame, made by the burning of certain combustibles, in a wooden tube; used as a signal during the night. Mar. Dict. False imprisonment, the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody.

Not truly; not honestly; falsely. Shak.

1. To violate by failure of veracity; to deceive. [Obs.] Spenser.
2. To defeat; to balk; to evade. [Obs.] Spenser

1. Uttering falsehood; unveracious; given to deceit; dishnest; as, a false witness.
2. Not truly; not honestly; falsely.
   
   
   "You play me false." Shak.
3. To report falsely; to falsify.
   
   
   [Obs.] Chaucer.
4. Not faithful or loyal, as to obligations, allegiance, vows, etc.; untrue; treacherous; perfidious; as, a false friend, lover, or subject; false to promises.
   
   

   I to myself was false, ere thou to me. Milton.

5. To betray; to falsify.
   
   
   [Obs.]

   [He] hath his truthe falsed in this wise. Chaucer.

6. Not according with truth or reality; not true; fitted or likely to deceive or disappoint; as, a false statement.
7. To mislead by want of truth; to deceive.
   
   
   [Obs.]

   In his falsed fancy. Spenser.

8. Not genuine or real; assumed or designed to deceive; counterfeit; hypocritical; as, false tears; false modesty; false colors; false jewelry.
   
   

   False face must hide what the false heart doth know. Shak.

9. To feign; to pretend to make.
   
   
   [Obs.] "And falsed oft his blows." Spenser.
10. Not well founded; not firm or trustworthy; erroneous; as, a false claim; a false conclusion; a false construction in grammar.
    
    

    Whose false foundation waves have swept away. Spenser.

11. Not essential or permanent, as parts of a structure which are temporary or supplemental.
12. Not in tune.
    
    

    False arch (Arch.), a member having the appearance of an arch, though not of arch construction. -- False attic, an architectural erection above the main cornice, concealing a roof, but not having windows or inclosing rooms. -- False bearing, any bearing which is not directly upon a vertical support; thus, the weight carried by a corbel has a false bearing. -- False cadence, an imperfect or interrupted cadence. -- False conception (Med.), an abnormal conception in which a mole, or misshapen fleshy mass, is produced instead of a properly organized fetus. -- False croup (Med.), a spasmodic affection of the larynx attended with the symptoms of membranous croup, but unassociated with the deposit of a fibrinous membrane. -- False door or window (Arch.), the representation of a door or window, inserted to complete a series of doors or windows or to give symmetry. -- False fire, a combustible carried by vessels of war, chiefly for signaling, but sometimes burned for the purpose of deceiving an enemy; also, a light on shore for decoying a vessel to destruction. -- False galena. See Blende. -- False imprisonment (Law), the arrest and imprisonment of a person without warrant or cause, or contrary to law; or the unlawful detaining of a person in custody. -- False keel (Naut.), the timber below the main keel, used to serve both as a protection and to increase the shio's lateral resistance. -- False key, a picklock. -- False leg. (Zoöl.) See Proleg. -- False membrane (Med.), the fibrinous deposit formed in croup and diphtheria, and resembling in appearance an animal membrane. -- False papers (Naut.), documents carried by a ship giving false representations respecting her cargo, destination, ect., for the purpose of deceiving. -- False passage (Surg.), an unnatural passage leading off from a natural canal, such as the urethra, and produced usually by the unskillful introduction of instruments. -- False personation (Law), the intentional false assumption of the name and personality of another. -- False pretenses (Law), false representations concerning past or present facts and events, for the purpose of defrauding another. -- False rail (Naut.), a thin piece of timber placed on top of the head rail to strengthen it. -- False relation (Mus.), a progression in harmony, in which a certain note in a chord appears in the next chord prefixed by a flat or sharp. -- False return (Law), an untrue return made to a process by the officer to whom it was delivered for execution. -- False ribs (Anat.), the asternal rebs, of which there are five pairs in man. -- False roof (Arch.), the space between the upper ceiling and the roof. Oxford Gloss. -- False token, a false mark or other symbol, used for fraudulent purposes. -- False scorpion (Zoöl.), any arachnid of the genus Chelifer. See Book scorpion. -- False tack (Naut.), a coming up into the wind and filling away again on the same tack. -- False vampire (Zoöl.), the Vampyrus spectrum of South America, formerly erroneously supposed to have blood-sucking habits; -- called also vampire, and ghost vampire. The genuine blood-sucking bats belong to the genera Desmodus and Diphylla. See Vampire. -- False window. (Arch.) See False door, above. -- False wing. (Zoöl.) See Alula, and Bastard wing, under Bastard. -- False works (Civil Engin.), construction works to facilitate the erection of the main work, as scaffolding, bridge centering, etc.