TRUTH SERUM Definition & Meaning

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truth serum

[ trooth seer-uhm ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a drug, as the barbiturate thiopental, that induces in the subject a desire to talk or a state of heightened suggestibility, used in psychotherapy and in interrogation to discover repressed or consciously withheld information.

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�y��vlog History and Origins

Origin of truth serum¹

First recorded in 1920–25

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

The playfulness kicks in when George and Kathryn invite the other suspects over for a dinner spiced with garlic and truth serum.

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“I often said Covid was the truth serum,” she said of the pandemic.

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Remarkables call it truth serum, ’cause it’s one of the few things that breaks through illusions.

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“Oral argument is like truth serum. Under the stress of their questioning, you can’t become someone you aren’t,” she said in an email.

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When informed of the winter shelter, Ellis said he didn’t want to go there, launching into a long discussion of truth serums and the power of his mind.

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