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

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

Christian Castro, 52, was one of two agents placed on leave earlier this year for allegedly lying about the January 14 shooting in Minneapolis of Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was wounded in the leg.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Earlier research has linked greater amounts of sedentary behavior, including sitting, reclining, or lying down while awake, with poorer health outcomes.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 3, 2026

Sometimes parking tickets are found lying in the cars on the return trip.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026

“I’m not lying when I say that I cannot help you if you don’t have a number.”

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• misleading