Veracity in terms of accuracy

Question

I want one word which indicates "Something with great veracity". Here, the emphasis of veracity is more towards "accuracy" than "truth".

It's a thing, an instrument that has good veracity.

I want to use this word as a name for such an instrument.

Dipan: Your question's title asks for "someone having veracity," but your closing statement mentions that "it's a thing, an instrument." Which is it? Are you looking for a word that describes an instrument, or a person? (If the former, you should change "someone" to "something" in your title and opening sentence. If the latter, you should probably remove or restate your last sentence.)
Do you want a word meaning "an accurate instrument/person" or one meaning "a veracious instrument/person"? They're not at all the same thing.
Btw, what exactly do you mean by veracity? What is the quality that you are looking to signify? You may not expect us to speculate on that, right?

jwpat7 · Accepted Answer · 2012-09-27 15:35:53Z

Senses of veridical, the only word I thought of when I read the question, include “True” and “Pertaining to an experience, perception, or interpretation that accurately represents reality”. However, for a product name one is not limited to real words. I think you would do well to consult translation dictionaries; foreign words may carry more cachet and may be more distinctive. Also look at the etymologies of words of interest; for example, regarding veridical etymonline says “1650s, from L. veridicus, from verum ‘truth,’ neuter of verus ‘true’ (see very) + dic-, stem of dicere ‘to speak’ (see diction)”; from which you might be led to consider combinations involving verum or verus. And so forth with words suggested in other answers. [Note, “naming” is off-topic in ELU (see fifth item in second bullet list of faq), so if you want specific advice about product names, you must ask elsewhere.]

user21497 · Answer 2 · 2012-09-27 10:59:49Z

In the biomedical world, tests (one type of measurement instrument), are often described as sensitive and specific. The sensitivity and specificity are expressed as percentages. An accurate test is one that has, for example, a sensitivity of 95% and a specificity of 97%.

While veracity and accuracy may be sometimes synonyms, I wouldn't describe the results of a scientific instrument's (hardware) measurements, or of a pathology test (biochemical), or of an IQ test (software), or of a political preference poll (software) as honest (which is what veracity implies, but as accurate and trustworthy in the sense that it usually doesn't give false-positives or false-negatives.

I think that accurate is an excellent choice for biochemical and software instruments, but if it's hardware, a precision instrument (i.e., precise) is also an excellent choice.

Accuracy and precision have distinct definitions: "A measurement system can be accurate but not precise, precise but not accurate, neither, or both... In the fields of science, engineering, industry and statistics, the accuracy[1] of a measurement system is the degree of closeness of measurements of a quantity to that quantity's actual (true) value. The precision[1] of a measurement system, also called reproducibility or repeatability, is the degree to which repeated measurements under unchanged conditions show the same results.[2]"
@JLG: Excellent comment. +1 Terminology is always a problem. When I edit, I always use the dictionary to verify the exact meanings of technical terms. Even when I think I know the meaning, I want to check to make sure that I'm right.
The difficulty is that the non-scientific community, and quite often the scientific community when not in the lab, use the terms in their nore general, synonymous, senses. This can lead to misunderstandings when the different registers are not explained.

bib · Answer 3 · 2012-09-27 12:25:29Z

In testing, the usefulness of a measuring technique (including instrumental measurements) are characterized by two principal criteria, validity and reliability. See this discussion.

Validity of an assessment is the degree to which it measures what it is supposed to measure.

reliability . . . is the extent to which a measurement gives results that are consistent.

Additional criteria, largely relating to precision are sensitivity and specificity

a test [or instrument administering a test] needs to be sensitive enough to detect the relevant problem [or phenomenon] if it is present (and therefore avoid too many false negative results), but specific enough not to respond to other things (and therefore avoid too many false positive results

J.R. · Answer 4 · 2012-09-27 09:14:50Z

up vote 1 down vote

You could simply say the instrument is accurate. From NOAD:

accurate (adj.) 1 (of information, measurements, statistics, etc.) correct in all details; exact : accurate information about the illness is essential.
• (of an instrument or method) capable of giving such information : an accurate thermometer.

If the word accurate isn't "flashy" enough for you, though, I'd recommend precise:

precise (adj.) marked by exactness and accuracy of expression or detail

One other choice: the noun form of precise (i.e., precision), can also be used as an adjective, when referring to instruments:

precision (n.) the quality, condition, or fact of being exact and accurate : the deal was planned and executed with military precision.
• [as adj. ] marked by or adapted for accuracy and exactness : a precision instrument.

As a footnote, the usage of the term precision instruments seems to have really taken off around WWII; there's an interesting Google Ngram, if you're curious.

answered Sep 27 '12 at 9:14

J.R.
34.4k23497

I thought it was for a person not device. Did you read the title? – Noah Sep 27 '12 at 9:25

@Noah: I thought the last sentence overrode the title. Could be an error on my part, but I think the O.P. is a non-native who meant something, not someone. I've posted a comment requesting clarification. – J.R. Sep 27 '12 at 9:29

I'd echo the comment of @JLG about accuracy versus precision. A precise watch might measure hundredths of a second. An accurate watch might keep time to within one second a day. While a watch may be both precise and accurate, precision does not imply accuracy, nor does accuracy imply precision. And despite the rise of "precision instruments," I think that "accurate" is more what the OP seeks. – rajah9 Sep 27 '12 at 16:19

@rajah9: This is a classic case of an O.P. asking too vague a question. Sure, a watch might be an instrument; so might a spectrometer, or an altimeter, or an IUPC. Is the O.P. writing a marketing brochure for the maker of scientific instruments used in research labs? Describing a highly accurate watch used by the main character of fictional spy novel? Really, we don't have a clue, because all we have to work with is, I want one word which indicates "Something with great veracity". I'm not sure if the O.P. wants "accurate" or "precision" – which is precisely why I offered both. – J.R. Sep 27 '12 at 21:18

1

Fair enough, @J.R. And so much better than the response I didn't send: "What is truth?" Instruments don't tell truth; they reflect different levels of the electromagnetic spectrum, barometric pressure, or pressure within the uterus (to site your examples). Even if Mark Twain didn't say it, this is appropriate: "Figures never lie, but liars often figure." – rajah9 Sep 28 '12 at 12:45

Noah · Answer 5 · 2012-09-27 08:58:36Z

up vote 0 down vote

Scrupulous (of a person or process) diligent, thorough, and extremely attentive to details: the research has been carried out with scrupulous attention to detail.

And veracious itself could be used, which is the adjective form of veracity.

answered Sep 27 '12 at 8:58

Noah
5,49821752

Scope for a pun on voracious there, I think. – Andrew Leach Sep 27 '12 at 9:00

JLG · Answer 6 · 2012-09-27 12:55:46Z

Exact can be used as an adjective meaning "characterized by accurate measurements or inferences with small margins of error; not approximate; operating with very great precision."

Also, the word true itself has more than a dozen definitions, a few of which are: "reliable, accurate" and "free from error" and "conforming to definitive criteria."

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Veracity in terms of accuracy

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