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to turn out to be true

to turn out to be true

14 3.7
To be proved correct after checking
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : resultar cierto
  • After months of investigation, the allegations turned out to be true.

Which stuff turned out to be true?

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Examples

  • The fact is, many ideas like this seem crazy but later turn out to be true.

    Blog text (2)

  • Everybody thought it was a joke, but it turned out to be true.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • And it turned out to be true.

    The Young Messiah (2016)

  • And of course, none of it turned out to be true at all.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Nobody I talked to at the time believed it, but it turned out to be true.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Still later, neither of these turned out to be true.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • And every one of them turned out to be true.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • A lot of what Cassie said turned out to be true.

    Have Dreams, Will Travel (2007)

  • It turned out to be true.

    The Arrested Development Documentary Project (2013)

  • We heard rumors, a landing in Vigan, in Aparri, which turned out to be true.

    Fiction book (2000)

Synonyms

to find out
vsto turn out to be true
∞ 2.1

To learn something you did not know, often by searching or asking

is about being shown accurate rather than simply learning facts
to turn out
vsto turn out to be true
∞ 3.4

To be discovered or to happen in a way you do not expect

is about being shown correct rather than only occurring unexpectedly
to come out
vsto turn out to be true
830 2.9

To become known to people after being hidden

is shown to be accurate rather than only being made known
proved
vsto turn out to be true
3.4

Shown to be true by clear evidence

is shown correct but usually with less absolute, formal proof

Antonyms

to disprove
66 4.5

To show that an idea or claim is not true

How Certain

to prove
∞ 3.1
to turn out to be true
14 3.7
to suspect
925 3.6
to appear
∞ 2.0

Surface Forms

turn out to be true infinitive
turned out to be true past
turned out to be true past participle
turning out to be true present participle
turns out to be true third person singular

Morphology

turn + out + to + be + true

The expression combines the phrasal verb 'turn out' with 'to be true'; although 'true' and 'be' signal correctness, the sense 'be discovered/shown to be' depends on the somewhat idiomatic/metaphorical meaning of 'turn out' which is not fully predictable from 'turn' + 'out' alone. A B1 learner who knows the constituents may infer the general idea but would likely need prior exposure to reliably interpret the specific sense, so it is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Turn out to be true comes from the simple picture of something being revealed at the end: to turn out is like emptying a box or opening a curtain to show what was hidden, so when a fact 'turns out' it is finally seen. That's why the phrase means 'to be shown to be true'.