mendacity

noun

men-ˈda-sə-tē How to pronounce mendacity (audio)
Definition of mendacitynext
1
as in lie
a statement known by its maker to be untrue and made in order to deceive highly fictionalized "memoirs" in which the facts were few and the mendacities many

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2
as in deceit
the tendency to tell lies you need to overcome this deplorable mendacity, or no one will ever believe anything you say

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 mendacity The answer from liberal institutions revealed to be complicit in large-scale violence and mendacity should still be a firm no. — Sean Williams, Harpers Magazine, 27 Jan. 2026 But widespread disgust with the mayor’s mendacity and the connivance of eight City Council members is changing the political landscape. — U T Readers, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Dec. 2025 Viewed from an especially merciless or purgatorial angle, certain strands of my life are little more than histories of lo-fi mendacity. — James Parker, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025 But one finishes this family saga more fully understanding why, for Xi Jinping, opacity and mendacity became the best guarantors of survival. — Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mendacity
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mendacity
  1. lie
  2. deceit
  3. tale
  4. deceitfulness
  5. story
Noun
  • The ad also accuses his Democratic opponent, Brian Poindexter, of telling lies about him.
    — Lara Korte The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The allegations hurled by state officials against Orange County were based on flat-out lies.
    — Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of lie
Noun
  • The best way Ray can think of to do so is to tail her shady husband, Dom (Bobby Cannavale) — all the way into a sordid (but still vaguely family-friendly) web of deceit, murder, blackmail and gangland drama.
    — Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026
  • These rosy reveries gradually darken as Wilde remembers succumbing to hedonism, deceit, debt, and disgrace.
    — Hannah Aizenman, New Yorker, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceit
Noun
  • Wildwood is a dark tale, with whispers of a witch, set against the beautiful yet formidable backdrop of rural New England.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The tale is energized by the thoughtful performances of Hanns Zischler, as Mann, and Sandra Hüller, as the author’s daughter Erika, who accompanies him while reviving conflicts from her own past.
    — Dan Stahl, New Yorker, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of tale
Noun
  • Antisocial personality includes a persistent pattern of traits such as callousness, lack of concern, deceitfulness, and irresponsibility, Ryan said.
    — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Perfidy — from the French perfidie via the Latin perfidia — means deceitfulness, treachery or a breach of faith or promise.
    — Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 21 Jan. 2026
Definition of deceitfulness
Noun
  • The Same Curve, Every Time Skeptics have been telling this story for a hundred years.
    — Stephen Messer, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
  • But all that warm, crowd-pleasing material is incongruously, fascinatingly, and not so comfortably fitted inside a story about great loss.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of story

Browse Nearby Words

mendacities
mendacity
mended
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Cite this Entry

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

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