belie
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to show to be false; contradict.
His trembling hands belied his calm voice.
- Antonyms:
- support, verify, substantiate, confirm, prove
-
to misrepresent.
The newspaper belied the facts.
-
to act unworthily according to the standards of (a tradition, one's ancestry, one's faith, etc.).
-
Archaic. to lie about; slander.
verb
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to show to be untrue; contradict
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to misrepresent; disguise the nature of
the report belied the real extent of the damage
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to fail to justify; disappoint
Synonym Usage
See misrepresent.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have beliedperfect
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has beliedperfect 3rd person singular
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am belyingprogressive 1st person singular
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is belyingprogressive 3rd person singular
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has been belyingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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have been belyingperfect progressive
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are belyingprogressive
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belyingparticiple
-
beliessingular 3rd person
Past
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had beliedperfect
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beliedsimple
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were belyingprogressive plural
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had been belyingperfect progressive
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was belyingprogressive singular
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beliedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of belie
First recorded before 1000; Middle English belyen, Old English belēogan; see be-, lie 1
Explanation
To belie means to contradict. If you are 93 but look like you are 53, then your young looks belie your age. We get belie from the Old English beleogan, which meant "to deceive by lying." It suggests characteristics or behavior that inadvertently or deliberately hide the truth. To remember it, just think "be lying." Snow White's decision to barge into the Seven Dwarfs' home without invitation belied her gentle nature.
Vocabulary lists containing belie
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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100 Words Every High School Graduate Should Know
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Brother Belie Jones didn’t give any eulogy, but he asked God to comfort the young widow and raise the baby in the Bosom of the Lamb, and then he read Scriptures for an hour.
From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns
The next morning, in spite of all effort, Mildred was too ill and lame to rise, but she instructed Belie to assure her employer that she would come the following day.
From Without a Home by Roe, Edward Payson
Thou hast most aptly said that I to-day Belie my character.
From Virginia, A Tragedy And Other Poems by Gilmore, Marion Forster
My heart died within me, that time; but I kneeled down and said the Lord's Prayer, and then the Belie right through, and then the Ten Commandments, in earnest prayer.
From Far from the Madding Crowd by Hardy, Thomas
Without a moment's hesitation he launched these against the cavalry near La Belie Alliance.
From The Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World: from Marathon to Waterloo by Creasy, Edward Shepherd, Sir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
