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

Former Federal Reserve official John Rogers was sentenced to 38 months in prison for lying to investigators about sharing restricted information.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026

But ICE has provided no proof, and in Araujo’s case, eyewitnesses say the agency is lying about what happened.

From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026

“There is no need to leave it lying on the beach.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

He added that those saying the digital euro would be used "as a tool of control" were "lying", stressing there would be the "highest privacy standards".

From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026

“Perhaps I cleaned too much. I worry about such things. What if I’ve made the place completely sterile? Shouldn’t a home have a bit of bacteria lying about?”

From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el

Related Words

• misleading