Veracity

noun (uncountable)

/vəˈræsɪti/

Habitual observance of truth; the quality of being truthful, accurate, and honest in one's statements and reports. Veracity is a professional and moral obligation for civil servants — under the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, officers are required to maintain truthfulness and accuracy in official communications. The foundational importance of veracity to public trust is illustrated by the fact that deliberate falsification of official records is a criminal offence under Section 463–471 of the Indian Penal Code (now BNS, 2023). Veracity also relates to sources: the verify-before-write principle in journalism and UPSC content demands source-verified accuracy.

✍️ Usage in a UPSC answer

The credibility of India's statistical agencies — including the NSO and RBI — rests ultimately on the veracity of field enumerators and survey respondents, whose misreporting can silently distort macroeconomic policy decisions for years.

Synonyms

truthfulnesshonestyaccuracycandoursincerityexactitude

Antonyms

mendacityfalsehooddeceptiondishonestyfabrication

🌱 Word Family

veracious (adjective), veraciously (adverb), verify (verb), verdict (noun), verisimilitude (noun)

🔡 Root

Latin verax (genitive veracis) = truthful; from verus = true

📜 Etymology

From Latin veracitas, derived from verax (truthful), itself from verus (true, real). The Indo-European root wer- (to speak, to say truly) underlies both Latin verus and Sanskrit vrata (vow, truth spoken). The word entered English in the 17th century, initially in philosophical contexts (the veracity of the senses), and later became a general term for personal truthfulness. The same root gives 'verify', 'verdict' (true saying), and 'verisimilitude' (likeness to truth).

🧠 Memory Hook

VERY + TRUE = VERACITY: The Latin root verus = true. VERify, VERdict, VERacity — all 'VER' words come from truth. Veracity is simply the state of being VERY TRUE, reliably and habitually. Think: a 'VER-ified' statement is a veracious one.

🧭 Ethics & Integrity 📖 Seen in: Ethics, Integrity & Aptitude — Complet...

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