--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Partial truths or half-truths are often…" description: "\"Partial truths or half-truths are often more insidious than total falsehoods.\" — Samuel P. Huntington" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/samuel-p-huntington-4547_falsehood_partial-truths-or-half-truths-are-often_1129280.png" --- # Partial truths or half-truths are often more insidious… ![“Partial truths or half-truths are often more insidious than total falsehoods.” quote by Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/samuel-p-huntington-4547_falsehood_partial-truths-or-half-truths-are-often_1129280.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/samuel-p-huntington-4547_falsehood_partial-truths-or-half-truths-are-often_1129280.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed2/samuel-p-huntington-4547_falsehood_partial-truths-or-half-truths-are-often_1129280.png) > “Partial truths or half-truths are often more insidious than total falsehoods.” [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Partial truths can be more harmful than outright lies because they blend fact with deception, making them harder to detect. **In simple terms:** Half‑truths can be more dangerous than lies. Key Takeaway Beware of incomplete information. Themes truth deception politics Mood cautious inquisitive Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - media consumption - policy making - public discourse Key Concepts cognitive bias information integrity Questions to Reflect On - What motivates the use of half‑truths? - How can societies guard against them? A Different Perspective Partial truths may be accepted as truth if not scrutinized. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Falsehood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) [Falsehoods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehoods/) [Half Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-truths/) [Insidious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/insidious/) [More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/more/) [Often](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/often/) [Partial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partial/) [Partial Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/partial-truths-464390/) [Than](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/than/) [Total](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/total/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truths Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths-half-800606/) [Truths Insidious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths-insidious-3093665/) ## Related quotes > [There are no whole truths: All truths are half-truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-are-no-whole-truths-all-truths-are-half-truths/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [“There are no whole truths; all truths are half-truths. It is trying to treat them as whole truths that plays the devil.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/there-are-no-whole-truths-all-truths-are-half-truths-it-is-trying-to/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Half-truths can be more pernicious than outright falsehoods.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendy-lesser/half-truths-can-be-more-pernicious-than-outright-falsehoods/) [Wendy Lesser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendy-lesser/) > [ Both in verse and in prose \[Karl\] Shapiro loves, partly out of indignation and partly out of sheer mischievousness, to tell the naked truths… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-jarrell/both-in-verse-and-in-prose-karl-shapiro-loves-partly-out-of/) [Randall Jarrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-jarrell/) > [“...'fundamentalism' and 'liberalism' and terrorism.' These labels only tell us partial truths. We must use them humbly, guardedly, Niebuhr would say, aware of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krista-tippett/fundamentalism-and-liberalism-and-terrorism-these-labels-only-tell-us/) [Krista Tippett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krista-tippett/) > [“Adoptees deserve open records because deception and partial truths do not set us free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashanne-stokes/adoptees-deserve-open-records-because-deception-and-partial-truths-do/) [DaShanne Stokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashanne-stokes/) > [After Self-Realisation it is easy to perceive the truth that all these religions were born on the same tree of spirituality, but that those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/after-self-realisation-it-is-easy-to-perceive-the-truth-that-all/) [Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/) > [“Lies and partial truths complicate life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janvier-chouteu-chando/lies-and-partial-truths-complicate-life/) [Janvier Chouteu-Chando](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janvier-chouteu-chando/) > [Total falsehoods can be easily exposed for what they are by citing exceptions to their claims. Hence, they are less likely to be accepted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/total-falsehoods-can-be-easily-exposed-for-what-they-are-by-citing/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Common sense, the half-truths of a deceitful society, is honored as the honest truths of a frank world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-jacoby/common-sense-the-half-truths-of-a-deceitful-society-is-honored-as-the/) [Russell Jacoby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-jacoby/) > [Half truths were a wonderful way to inspire credibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-baldacci/half-truths-were-a-wonderful-way-to-inspire-credibility/) [David Baldacci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-baldacci/) > [There was a distinction between lying and telling half-truths, but it was a very narrow one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/there-was-a-distinction-between-lying-and-telling-half-truths-but-it/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [The truths that seem most truthful, if you look at them from all sides, if you look at them close up, turn out to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/the-truths-that-seem-most-truthful-if-you-look-at-them-from-all-sides/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [Half-truths are the devil's IOUs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-ban-breathnach/half-truths-are-the-devil-s-ious/) [Sarah Ban Breathnach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-ban-breathnach/) > [Aristotle discovered all the half-truths which were necessary to the creation of science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/aristotle-discovered-all-the-half-truths-which-were-necessary-to-the/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) ## More by Samuel P. Huntington > [Countries will cooperate with each other, and are more likely to cooperate with each other when they share a common culture, as is most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/countries-will-cooperate-with-each-other-and-are-more-likely-to/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [“The prevalence of anti-patriotic attitudes among liberal intellectuals led some of them to warn their fellow liberals of the consequences of such attitudes for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/the-prevalence-of-anti-patriotic-attitudes-among-liberal/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Also, of course, for most of this time most Americans thought of America as a white country with, at best, only a very segregated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/also-of-course-for-most-of-this-time-most-americans-thought-of/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [These transnationalists have little need for national loyalty, view national boundaries as obstacles that thankfully are vanishing, and see national governments as residues from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/these-transnationalists-have-little-need-for-national-loyalty-view/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Civilizations evolve over time, and most scholars of civilization, including people like Carol Quigley, argue that they go through periods of warring states, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/civilizations-evolve-over-time-and-most-scholars-of-civilization/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [First of all, we haven't always welcomed immigrants.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/first-of-all-we-haven-t-always-welcomed-immigrants/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Hispanics speak Spanish or Portuguese, which are languages we Americans are familiar with, so it doesn't seem to pose the same types of problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/hispanics-speak-spanish-or-portuguese-which-are-languages-we/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Israel has military capabilities including nuclear weapons, far surpassing any other power in the Middle East, but it's a small country. The rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/israel-has-military-capabilities-including-nuclear-weapons-far/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [America doesn't border on Muslim countries. European countries do and that seems to be a fundamental difference.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/america-doesn-t-border-on-muslim-countries-european-countries-do-and/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Except under rare circumstances, I don't write responses to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/except-under-rare-circumstances-i-don-t-write-responses-to-criticism/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Religiosity distinguishes America from most other Western societies. Americans are also overwhelmingly Christian, which distinguishes them from many non-Western peoples. Their religiosity leads Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/religiosity-distinguishes-america-from-most-other-western-societies/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Both sides are divided and Western countries collaborate with Muslim countries and vice versa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/both-sides-are-divided-and-western-countries-collaborate-with-muslim/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [ Some Westerners \[…\] have argued that the West does not have problems with Islam but only with violent Islamist extremists. Fourteen hundred years of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/some-westerners-have-argued-that-the-west-does-not-have-problems-with/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [What are the prospects for an Arab state serving a leading role comparable to the role that other states place in other regions? There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/what-are-the-prospects-for-an-arab-state-serving-a-leading-role/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) > [Obviously there are divisions within the West and divisions within Islam - there are different sects, different communities, different countries. So neither one is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-p-huntington/obviously-there-are-divisions-within-the-west-and-divisions-within/) [Samuel P. Huntington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) [Explore all 109 Samuel P. Huntington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-p-huntington/) ## More Falsehood quotes > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [falsehood is not more unjustifiable than unsafe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/falsehood-is-not-more-unjustifiable-than-unsafe/) [Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/) > [THE ART OF PEACE is not easy. It is a fight to the finish, the slaying of evil desires and all falsehood within. On…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morihei-ueshiba/the-art-of-peace-is-not-easy-it-is-a-fight-to-the-finish-the-slaying/) [Morihei Ueshiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morihei-ueshiba/) > [ A mind conscious of right laughs at the falsehoods of rumour. \[Lat., Conscia mens recti famae mendacia risit.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/a-mind-conscious-of-right-laughs-at-the-falsehoods-of-rumour-lat/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [“Falsehood of a good man is better than truth of a bad one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheel-farooq/falsehood-of-a-good-man-is-better-than-truth-of-a-bad-one/) [Raheel Farooq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheel-farooq/) > [So true is it that all transactions of preeminent importance are wrapt in doubt and obscurity; while some hold for certain facts the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tacitus/so-true-is-it-that-all-transactions-of-preeminent-importance-are/) [Tacitus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tacitus/) > [Strange times are these in which we live when old and young are taught in falsehood's school, and the one man that dares to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/strange-times-are-these-in-which-we-live-when-old-and-young-are/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Tangible language, which often tells more falsehoods than truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/tangible-language-which-often-tells-more-falsehoods-than-truths/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Whether statistics be an art or a science... or a scientific art, we concern ourselves little. It is the basis of social and political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolphe-quetelet/whether-statistics-be-an-art-or-a-science-or-a-scientific-art-we/) [Adolphe Quetelet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolphe-quetelet/) > [Falsehood, like the dry-rot, flourishes the more in proportion as air and light are excluded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-whately/falsehood-like-the-dry-rot-flourishes-the-more-in-proportion-as-air/) [Richard Whately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-whately/) > [“God is not as a man.” He thus shows that all men are indeed guilty of falsehood, inasmuch as they change from one thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-church-fathers/god-is-not-as-a-man-he-thus-shows-that-all-men-are-indeed-guilty-of/) [The Church Fathers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-church-fathers/) > [People who do not know the Bible well have been gulled into thinking it is a good guide to morality. This mistaken view may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-dawkins/people-who-do-not-know-the-bible-well-have-been-gulled-into-thinking/) [Richard Dawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-dawkins/) > [One of the reasons, surely, why women have been credited with less perfect veracity than men is that the burden of conventional falsehood falls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-reasons-surely-why-women-have-been-credited-with-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [He had the unlucky capacity many men have of seeing and believing in the possibility of goodness and truth, but of seeing the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/he-had-the-unlucky-capacity-many-men-have-of-seeing-and-believing-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) [Browse all 724 Falsehood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/falsehood/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Partial truths or half-truths are often more insidious than total falsehoods.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Samuel P. 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