mendacity

[ men-das-i-tee ]

/ mɛnˈdæs ɪ ti /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mendacity ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural men·dac·i·ties for 2.

the quality of being mendacious; untruthfulness; tendency to lie.

an instance of lying; falsehood.

Nearby words

mencken, h. l., mend, mend one's fences, mend one's ways, mendacious, mendacity, mende, mendel, mendel's first law, mendel's law, mendel's laws

Origin of mendacity

1640–50; < Late Latin mendācitās falsehood, equivalent to Latin mendāci- (stem of mendāx) given to lying, false + -tās -ty²

SYNONYMS FOR mendacity

1, 2 deception, lie, untruth, deceit.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR mendacity ON THESAURUS.COM

Can be confused

mendacity mendicity

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for mendacity

Besides the mendacity of it all, such a scheme misses the obvious truth that “the audience has a mind of its own.”
The Insane Swedish Plan to Rate Games for Sexism|Nick Gillespie|November 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The destruction of a for-profit enterprise is always noble; its defense always carries the whiff of mendacity.
Toyota's a Victim, Not a Villain|Eric Dezenhall|February 13, 2011|DAILY BEAST
His new book, The Mendacity of Hope, argues that Obama has betrayed liberalism and the Constitution.
Obama's Tyranny|Roger D. Hodge|September 30, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Roger D. Hodge is the author of The Mendacity of Hope: Barack Obama and the Betrayal of American Liberalism.
Obama's Tyranny|Roger D. Hodge|September 30, 2010|DAILY BEAST

Only one candidate is awe-inspiring in his mendacity, and that is Charlie Crist.
Good Riddance to a Worthless Pol|Reihan Salam|April 29, 2010|DAILY BEAST
Abul Fazl had another project in his brain; it combined the audacity of genius with the mendacity of a courtier.
The Great Events by Famous Historians, Volume 9|Various
Whatever their motives may have been, one thing is certain, they have produced most convincing proof of German mendacity.
What Germany Thinks|Thomas F. A. Smith
I have done all the cooking and much of the dish-washing, and yet you have the impudence and mendacity to say I have been selfish.
The Indians of the Painted Desert Region|George Wharton James
I assented, with just the shade of irony necessary to rob the assertion of its mendacity.
That Affair Next Door|Anna Katharine Green
Of their mendacity and cynical views respecting it I had many illustrations.
The Englishman in China During the Victorian Era, Vol. II (of 2)|Alexander Michie

British Dictionary definitions for mendacity

mendacity

/ (mɛnˈdæsɪtɪ) /

noun plural -ties

the tendency to be untruthful

a falsehood

Derived Forms

mendacious (mɛnˈdeɪʃəs), adjectivemendaciously, adverbmendaciousness, noun

Word Origin for mendacity

C17: from Late Latin mendācitās, from Latin mendāx untruthful

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