lying

¹ American  

[lahy-ing] / ˈlaɪ ɪŋ /

noun

1. the telling of lies, or false statements; untruthfulness.

   From boyhood, he has never been good at lying.

   Synonyms:

   prevarication, mendacity, falsity, falsehood

   Antonyms:

   veracity, truth

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adjective

1. telling or containing lies; deliberately untruthful; deceitful; false.

   a lying report.

   Synonyms:

   counterfeit, sham, fallacious, mendacious, misleading, deceptive

   Antonyms:

   trustworthy, accurate, correct, actual, candid, true

lying ² American  

[lahy-ing] / ˈlaɪ ɪŋ /

verb

1. present participle of lie.

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lying ¹ British  

/ ˈlaɪɪŋ /

verb

1. the present participle and gerund of lie 1

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lying ² British  

/ ˈlaɪɪŋ /

verb

1. the present participle and gerund of lie 2

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Other Word Forms

• lyingly
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of lying

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; see origin at lie ¹, -ing ¹, -ing ²

Explanation

If you engage in lying, you're fabricating, prevaricating, or speaking falsely. You are deliberately deviating from the truth. If lying is the act of telling a lie, then "lying through your teeth" is the act of telling a bold lie, even if you know your listener will immediately know you're lying. Descended from a line in a Marx Brothers film, "Who you gonna believe, me or your lying eyes?" is spoken (ironically) by someone who's been caught lying and, instead of admitting it, says the evidence is wrong, as well as the person who's looking right at it.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lying

The trick is not to recreate the chicken bake so faithfully that you simply end up with one lying open-faced on a pie crust.

From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026

Last week, my Oura ring mistakenly logged a two-hour binge-watching session as time asleep because I was lying motionless in bed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026

Thousands have queued to pay their respects to the late king, during his lying in state in the chapel of the Royal Palace in the Norwegian capital.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

Footage published on Citizen showed what appeared to be a body covered by a white cloth lying by the lake near some yellow caution tape strung between a railing and a palm tree.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

The last of the storm clouds disappeared from the sky; the sun sank gold and low, and Nim and Alex were still lying on the beach talking.

From "Nim’s Island" by Wendy Orr

Related Words

• misleading