belie
[ bih-lahy ]
/ bɪˈlaɪ /
verb (used with object), be·lied, be·ly·ing.
to show to be false; contradict: His trembling hands belied his calm voice.
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.
RELATED WORDS
negate, contradict, repudiate, mislead, misstate, distort, contravene, deny, disagree, negative, explode, controvert, oppose, confute, gainsay, pervert, hide, disguise, color, warp
Nearby words
- belgrade,
- belgrano,
- belgrano, manuel,
- belgravia,
- belial,
- belief,
- believability,
- believable,
- believe,
- believe it or not
Origin of belie
SYNONYMS FOR belie
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for belying
belie
/ (bɪˈlaɪ) /
verb -lies, -lying or -lied (tr)
to show to be untrue; contradict
to misrepresent; disguise the nature ofthe report belied the real extent of the damage
to fail to justify; disappoint
Word Origin for belie
Old English belēogan; related to Old Frisian biliuga, Old High German biliugan; see be-, lie 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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belie
Old English beleogan "to deceive by lies," from be- + lie (v.1) "to lie, tell lies." Current sense of "to contradict as a lie" is first recorded 1640s. The other verb lie once also had a formation like this, from Old English belicgan, which meant "to encompass, beleaguer," and in Middle English was a euphemism for "to have sex with" (i.e. "to lie with carnally").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper