Katherine T. KinkeadAmerican Guide Series: Pennsylvania
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"What is a lie?" asks Lord Byron in Don Juan. He then answers himself: "'Tis but the truth in masquerade...." The history of belie illustrates a certain connection between lying and masquerading as something other than one is. In Old English, belie meant "to deceive by lying," but in time, it came to mean "to tell lies about," taking on a sense similar to that of the modern word slander. Eventually, its meaning softened, shifting from an act of outright lying to one of mere misrepresentation; by the 1700s, the word was being used in the sense "to disguise or conceal." Nowadays, belie is typically applied when someone or something gives an impression that is in disagreement with the facts, rather than in contexts where there is an intentional untruth. A happy face put on to set others at ease, for example, may belie an internal disgruntlement.
Examples of belie in a Sentence
Tori Latham, Robb Report, 25 May 2025
The grandeur and pageantry of the position belies the simple existence the pope has led for much of his life.
—Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune, 21 May 2025
His story was belied by surveillance footage from the area, showing the second armed robber alongside Jones in the same outfit Upshaw wore at the hospital, authorities said.
—Nate Gartrell, Mercury News, 7 May 2025
The landscapes, bracketed by Russia and China borderlines, have stories to tell, from the Steppe grasslands, where Chinggis Khaan (aka Genghis Khan) once rode, to the Gobi Desert, where arid landscapes belie subterranean layers rich in coal, gold, and dinosaur bones.
—AFAR Media, 25 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Belie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/belie. Accessed 1 Jun. 2025.
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belie
verb
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