Fals'i-fȳ1, v. t.
v. t. [imp. & p. p. FALSIFIED; p. pr. & vb. n. FALSIFYING.] [Fr. falsifier, Sp. falsificar, It. & Lat. falsificare, from Lat. falsus, false, q. v., and facere, to make.]
Sense 1. To represent falsely; to make false; to counterfeit; to forge; as, to falsify coin.
The Irish bards use to forge and falsify every thing as they list, to please or displease any man. Spenser.
Sense 2. To prove to be false, or untrustworthy; to disappoint; as, to falsify a record.
By how much better than my word I am, By so much shall I falsify men's hopes. Shak.
Sense 3. To violate; to break by falsehood; as, to falsify one's faith or word. Sidney.
Sense 4. To baffle or escape; as, to falsify a blow. Butler.
Sense 5. (Law.) To avoid or defeat; to prove false, as a judgment. Blackstone.
Sense 6. (Equity.) To show, in accounting, that an item of charge inserted in an account is wrong. Story. Daniell.