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Synonyms

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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
lying 2 British  
/ ˈlaɪɪŋ /

verb

  1. the present participle and gerund of lie 2

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

  • lyingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of lying

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English; 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.

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Vocabulary lists containing lying

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Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"Really scared" Pearl unlocked her mum's phone, dialled 999 and told call handler Gen Hinds: "She's lying on the sofa… she's not awake. Her eyes keep on opening and closing."

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

Joel Smith KC, for the prosecution, said Djellal and Bouchadoe, were found inside the property, "one lying in the lounge across the patio threshold, one in an upstairs bedroom close to a window".

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

One points to a $20 bill lying on the sidewalk.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026

Oh yeah, “Baghdad Bob,” Iraq’s lying former information minister: “Today, the tide has turned, we are destroying them.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 5, 2026

“Proud of you? You applied to transfer to a school in her district and you didn’t tell me. That’s called lying, Lexie.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.