veridical

ve•rid•i•cal (vuh-RID-i-kuhl)  adj
also veridic

Definition:
1. true, truthful, veracious
2. pertaining to an experience, perception, or interpretation that accurately represents reality
3. coinciding with future events or apparently unknowable present realities

veridicality noun;  veridically adverb

Origin:
1653; from L. veridicus, from verum “truth,” neut. of verus "true" + dic-, stem of dicere “to speak”

Related:
Synonyms: accurate, authentic, correct, factual, genuine, precise, true, truthful, unerring, veracious
Related Words: veridicous;
from verus "true": veritas, veracious, veracity, verity, aver, severity, verisimilitude, verify, very
from dicere “to speak”: contradiction, dictum, dictate, theodicy, indication, interdict, valediction, predict, indictive, dedicate, predicate, vindication, juridical, benediction, abdicate, addict, malediction, diction, judge, edict

Sentence Examples:
• Or he would spin you yarns, sober, farcical, veridical, or invented. And, with transitions infinitely rapid, he would be serious, jocose--solemn, ribald--earnest, flippant--logical, whimsical, turn and turn about. And in every sentence, in its form or in its substance, he would wrap a surprise for you--it was the unexpected word, the unexpected assertion, sentiment, conclusion, that constantly arrived. - Grey Roses, Henry Harland

• Now, Black Magic in the past may have been imposture reinforced by delusion, and to state that it is recurring at the present day does not commit anyone to an opinion upon its veridical origin. - Devil-Worship in France, Arthur Edward Waite

• Here is the pitfall, here is the difficulty, to have ability enough to express the horrible battle that was fought. Ah, would to God that I had now a bottle of the best wine that ever those drank who shall read this so veridical history! -Gargantua and His Son Pantagruel, Francis Rabelais

The Storyline
Anna started to ask who the stranger was, but doubted the answer would be veridical.

Why This Word:
It's true that you could use true or truthful wherever you could use veridical. But the inverse is not true. Veridical is more specific. From its roots, verus dicere, we get to speak the truth. Veridical pertains to a factual account that corresponds to reality. It also has its wild side. There's another meaning and association with hallucinations, visions and phantoms that happen to correspond with truth.

Sources: Wiktionary, Free Dictionary, Dictionary.com, Online Etymology

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