1
Core quality
Genuine or worthy of being described as such, often used to intensify a figurative description.
Example
The archive is a veritable treasure trove of local history.
veritable
/ˈverɪtəbəl/ · VER-ih-tuh-buladjective
Genuine or worthy of being described as such, often used to intensify a figurative description.
Use veritable to express this relationship precisely: genuine or worthy of being described as such, often used to intensify a figurative description.
What veritable Really Means
The word becomes easier to use when its closely related senses are separated and compared.
2
Attributive or predicative use
Use this adjective before a suitable noun or after a linking verb such as be or seem.
Example
The small room became a veritable laboratory.
3
Analytical distinction
Choose it when this exact descriptive quality matters; a related word may overlap without conveying the same trait.
Example
After the storm, the road was a veritable river.
Use veritable Naturally
Notice how the surrounding noun or clause reveals the exact shade of meaning.
The archive is a veritable treasure trove of local history.
The small room became a veritable laboratory.
After the storm, the road was a veritable river.
Precision Matters
Veritable overlaps with several common words, but each carries a different emphasis.
veritable
vs.Means genuine or worthy of being described as such, often used to intensify a figurative description.
tangible
Means able to be touched; figuratively, real, definite, or clearly perceptible.
veritable
vs.Means genuine or worthy of being described as such, often used to intensify a figurative description.
palpable
Means so noticeable that it seems capable of being felt.
veritable
vs.Means genuine or worthy of being described as such, often used to intensify a figurative description.
ostensible
Means stated or appearing to be true, but not necessarily genuine or actual.
veritable
vs.Means genuine or worthy of being described as such, often used to intensify a figurative description.
illusory
Means not real or based on a misleading appearance.
Test veritable in Context
The collection genuinely merits the emphatic figurative description.
1
With thousands of previously unknown letters, the collection is a ___ gold mine for historians.