falsos

Falsos is the masculine plural form of the Spanish adjective falso, meaning not genuine, false, or deceptive. It is used to describe masculine plural nouns and can appear in various contexts, from everyday language to technical terms. As a grammatical form, falsos agrees in gender and number with the nouns it modifies (for example, falsos gérmenes, falsos amigos).

Etymology and form: the word falso derives from Latin falsus, meaning shaped by deception or untruth. The form falsos reflects standard Spanish agreement rules for adjectives in the plural masculine.

Common uses and examples: in linguistic contexts, the phrase falsos amigos refers to words in two languages that look alike but have different meanings, which can mislead learners. In statistics and data analysis, falsos positivos and falsos negativos denote incorrect classifications: a false positive is when a test indicates presence of a condition that is absent, while a false negative is when a test fails to detect a condition that is present. In everyday language, falsos can modify nouns to describe deceptive or inauthentic things or people, such as falsos testimonios or falsos profetas, and can also be used more somberly to describe impostors or misleading individuals.

Usage notes: falsos carries a pejorative or cautionary nuance depending on context, signaling that what is described is not as it appears. The term is widely understood across Spanish-speaking communities and appears in both academic and informal discourse.

See also: falsedad, engaño, mentira, falsificación.