lying 1 of 4

adjective

ˈlī-iŋ How to pronounce lying (audio)
Definition of lyingnext
as in dishonest
telling or containing lies that lying son of a gun told me that the used car had never been in an accident

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lying

2 of 4

noun

as in deception

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lying

3 of 4

verb (1)

present participle of lie
as in deceiving
to make a statement one knows to be untrue would I lie to you about that?

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lying

4 of 4

verb (2)

present participle of lie
1
as in leading
to be positioned along a certain course or in a certain direction the train tracks lie just over that hill

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2
as in sitting
to occupy a place or location I left the book lying on the counter

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3
as in hiding
to remain out of sight paparazzi were lying in wait outside the restaurant, a well-known celebrity hangout

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lying
Adjective
He was found dead lying face up on his hotel bed with no signs of trauma, according to a Monday report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida. — Kenan Draughorne, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2022
Noun
It has been defined in slightly different ways over the years, but some of the traits commonly associated with psychopathy include pathological lying, extreme narcissism, shallow affect, impulsivity and lack of empathy and remorse. — David Dematteo, The Conversation, 20 Oct. 2026 Blatant, in-your-face lying, cheating and stealing is the norm. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 16 Sep. 2026 Meanwhile, Melanie’s sister, Steph, begged Melanie to leave Sincere because of his compulsive lying and shady behavior. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 1 Sep. 2026 Trending Stories Inevitably, the lying started to catch up with her. — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2026 The latest indictment, which the district attorney said was returned July 20, adds the lying in wait circumstance to the previous murder charges. — Liza Esquibias, USA Today, 12 Aug. 2026 Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez then accused Rubio of lying and said that Cuba had no knowledge of the offer. — Nora Gámez Torres, Miami Herald, 21 July 2026 Those gathering for the lying in state and funeral will contrast with huge nationwide protests in January that were met by a deadly crackdown by security forces that left thousands dead and sent shock waves around the world. — Chantal Da Silva, NBC news, 3 July 2026 Stop the madness, stop the lying, and just be free. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 19 June 2026
Verb
The incumbent senator accused his critics of lying about the controversy before acknowledging that his office sent patients with unpaid bills to collections. — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2026 In the lawsuit, the family also claimed that an Oaks Christian School teacher accused their son of lying about the harassment after a student called him a racial epithet inside a classroom. — Matthew Rodriguez, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026 Onlookers and policemen rushed to the balloon’s basket to find the three men lying crumpled on the ground. — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 21 Oct. 2026 Federal authorities accused her Monday of fraudulently registering to vote in July 2006 and then lying about it in her naturalization paperwork in March 2026. — Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026 Since then, numerous instructors have found ways to use a chair for adapted versions of a surprising number of traditional yoga movements, like lunging warrior poses and standing-to-lying sun salutations. — Jennifer Heimlich, Time, 20 Oct. 2026 This is not the first time Arthur has publicly accused her daughter of lying. — ABC News, 20 Oct. 2026 The Stanford dropout and founder of biotech startup Theranos was charged with fraud for lying about the technology and financial health of her company. — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 16 Oct. 2026 That same day, two people visiting a reservoir near Wurzbach Parkway and Vista Del Norte found Rangel lying face-down in the grass near the water’s edge, according to the affidavit. — Annasofia Scheve, San Antonio Express-News, 15 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lying
  1. dishonest
  2. deception
  3. deceiving
  4. leading
  5. sitting
  6. hiding
  7. misleading
  8. prevarication
Adjective
  • The debate also took on an edgy, deeply personal tone, as the candidates repeatedly accused each other of being dishonest or misleading.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The other coach is dishonest and decides to strategically rank their players in a different order.
    — Dana Mackenzie, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of dishonest
Noun
  • Nefarious actors have long been keen to fill the gap through what international law describes as coercion, deception and abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability.
    — Robert P. George, Washington Post, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The suspect, identified as 58-year-old Zishan Zeng, was charged with two counts of elder exploitation and two counts of theft by deception.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of deception
Verb
  • But looks are deceiving in this case – just like the 3X Plus and 3X before it, the trailer stretches out via three individual telescopic segments that emerge at the push of a button.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Facebook’s lawyers argued that the state failed to prove whether people were actually harmed by these deceiving statements.
    — Mikella Schuettler, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • By halftime, the fourth-year pro who entered the game leading the NFL in receptions and yards stood at six catches, 129 yards and a touchdown.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Booker scored 19 points in the first half, leading the Suns to a 57-54 halftime lead.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of leading
Verb
  • The Saints are sitting at 2-4 for the season and have dropped a few close games.
    — OutKick, FOXNews.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Blush, bronzer, and highlighter all feature meltable formulas that seem to become part of the skin rather than sitting atop the surface.
    — Jeanne Ballion, Vogue, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of sitting
Verb
  • Some senators fled while others braced themselves inside the Senate chamber as Officer Eugene Goodman tried to reason with the mob, and Senate staffers barricaded themselves in offices, hiding.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Joseph had spent most of the war hiding in the forest with the Bielski partisan force, a Jewish resistance group.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of hiding
Adjective
  • Meta argued the state failed to prove misleading statements about privacy and that content moderation actually harmed New Mexicans.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Meta argued that New Mexico failed to prove that the tech giant's executives made misleading statements about privacy and that its content moderation practices harmed state residents.
    — Aimee Picchi, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of misleading
Noun
  • This week, in testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Pam Bondi gave a master class in obfuscation, prevarication, and pettiness.
    — John Ficarra, Air Mail, 11 Oct. 2025
  • There was no picture, there was no drawing, there has been so many lies, so much prevarication, so much cover up.
    — John Parkinson, ABC News, 10 Sep. 2025
Definition of prevarication

Browse Nearby Words

lyceums
lying
lying back
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Cite this Entry

“Lying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lying. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on lying

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lying

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