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

---

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.

---

lying ¹ British  

/ ˈlaɪɪŋ /

verb

1. the present participle and gerund of lie 1

---

lying ² British  

/ ˈlaɪɪŋ /

verb

1. the present participle and gerund of lie 2

---

Other Word Forms

• lyingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of lying

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

Example Sentences

At its core, she explains, lying is "telling a story with the intention to deceive people" and that warps reality in a powerful way which she warns can ultimately be damaging.

From BBC

This wasn’t exactly lying—it had been fresh-baked about five days ago.

From Literature

Supporters of a ban on lying have argued that it could help rebuild trust and confidence in political institutions.

From BBC

Presumably the gambit is to catch Mr. Powell for lying to Congress regarding the office renovations or scrounge for details in search of some other so far undetected offense.

From The Wall Street Journal

Powell is accused of lying to Congress in June about the costs of renovating the Federal Reserve building in Washington, D.C.

From Salon

Related Words

• misleading