to tell the truth
48
3.2
- idiom
- Informal
:
a decir verdad
- To tell the truth, I haven't had much of an appetite since I learned of Henry.
My plan obviously was to tell the truth the whole time and then at the end still.
- My plan obviously was to tell the truth the whole time and then at the end still.
- So on that day I just decided that I was going to tell the truth.
- And he said it's like that part of his brain just turned off and he stopped having that feeling and was able to tell the truth and speak what he felt and, you know, was powerful.
- And I just, I just felt like I had to tell the truth.
Examples
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To tell the truth, I didn't think I would enjoy the movie as much as I did.
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To tell the truth, I sometimes still miss the conversation of such gentlemen as yourself, doctor.
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But if it's easier for you to lie than it is to tell the truth, you will lie.
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Nobody seems to trust a lawyer enough to tell the truth.
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I am waiting for you to tell the truth.
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Who would be more likely to tell the truth, a man or a woman?
Fiction book (1994) -
Well, to tell the truth, I'll be glad to get out of that cell.
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Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?
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Is anyone ever going to tell the truth about what's happening here?
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It is not a crime to tell the truth.
Synonyms
227
4.5
Say you are being honest before you speak
221
2.3
To show you are telling the truth or how you really feel
104
4.9
Admitting something is true before you say something else
97
4.3
Saying that something is true before you say something different
40
6.2
Tell someone the truth about something difficult
28
4.1
In an honest, direct way without hiding your true thoughts
24
8.3
A phrase that shows the next thing you say is honest
17
5.6
You say it to show you are honest, even if it sounds awkward
5
6.1
A phrase people say to show what they say is really true
Admitting a point that goes against what you said
As someone openly admits
Antonyms
How Honest
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally means 'to say the truth' and its sense is directly derivable from 'tell' (to say) + 'the truth' (what is true); the definite article is semantically empty here. As a discourse marker meaning 'honestly' or 'to admit something,' it follows a straightforward compositional pattern found across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will understand it.
Etymology
To tell the truth comes from a simple speaking habit: before saying something hard, a person would say tell meaning 'to speak' and truth meaning 'real fact' to promise to be honest. So, it is used today when someone wants to 'admit the truth' or 'be honest'.