mendacity

[men-das-i-tee]

noun

plural

mendacities 

1. the quality of being mendacious; untruthfulness; tendency to lie.

   Synonyms: deceit, untruth, lie, deception

2. an instance of lying; falsehood.

   Synonyms: deceit, untruth, lie, deception

mendacity

/ mɛnˈdeɪʃəs, mɛnˈdæsɪtɪ /

noun

1. the tendency to be untruthful

2. a falsehood

Other Word Forms

• mendacious adjective
• mendaciousness noun
• mendaciously adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of mendacity¹

1640–50; < Late Latin mendācitās falsehood, equivalent to Latin mendāci- (stem of mendāx ) given to lying, false + -tās -ty ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of mendacity¹

C17: from Late Latin mendācitās, from Latin mendāx untruthful

Example Sentences

God knows, there are enough rotten policies, not to speak of corruption and mendacity, to keep everyone busy, and a mass movement does need to be widely inclusive.

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To the extent that calculated mendacity delivered through the media can swing elections, the implications are grave for democratic theory.

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Those carnal delights hardly seem worth it given the violence and mendacity Stanley has shown himself capable of.

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As historian Randall Balmer explained at Religion News Service, the sleight of hand regarding the timeline was only the beginning of the mendacity religious right leaders brought to their campaign against Carter.

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But it’s the delusion and mendacity on display at Giuliani’s press conference that have more powerfully shaped American political culture.

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Related Words

• deceit 
• deception 
• prevarication