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
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 What better time than the summer of the nation’s 250th anniversary of independence to reflect on how Trump’s years of lying have corroded the citizenry’s essential belief in the integrity of elections? — Jackie Calmes, Mercury News, 19 June 2026 Stop the madness, stop the lying, and just be free. — Marina Watts, Entertainment Weekly, 19 June 2026 In the finale of Season 2, the women have gotten past the lying and scheming and are in a new and more honest place. — Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 10 June 2026 Just needed his seat in Congress despite his lying and cheating, kind of like the guy sitting in the White House. — Dp Opinion, Denver Post, 8 June 2026
Verb
Debates the dystopian vision of Hulu’s A Handmaid’s Tale, lying flat on his back on a bed, draped in a red robe. — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026 An aerial view shows houses lying deluged in sludge after flash floods at Devighat, Bidur Municipality in Nepal's Nuwakot district on August 27, 2026. — Sam Meredith,evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 2 Sep. 2026 Their time in Fiji was marked by endless drama, with Sincere often lying and leaving Melanie feeling humiliated on several occasions. — Allison Degrushe, StyleCaster, 1 Sep. 2026 Few experiences are more frustrating than lying awake at night while desperately wanting to fall asleep. — Daryl Austin, USA Today, 30 Aug. 2026 That news came the same week that ICE agent Christian Castro, who was charged with shooting a man and lying about it during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, was released from a Texas jail. — Carlos De Loera, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2026 Police Chief Ed Hudak acknowledged that lying under oath is a crime but compared giving fake names and addresses to lying about one’s age, saying the matter likely wouldn’t end in prosecution. — Jessica Lipscomb, Miami Herald, 28 Aug. 2026 Who are the Democratic senators accusing the secretary of lying? — O. Rose Broderick, STAT, 28 Aug. 2026 The flight attendant allegedly demanded to know where Cruz worked and accused him of lying. — Colson Thayer, PEOPLE, 28 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lying
  1. dishonest
  2. deception
  3. deceiving
  4. leading
  5. sitting
  6. hiding
  7. misleading
  8. prevarication
Adjective
  • There are no controversies and any attempt to generate them is dishonest and disingenuous.
    — Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 26 Aug. 2026
  • If a claim is substantiated, the plagiarist is seen as sloppy or lazy at best, and fundamentally dishonest at worst.
    — Roger J. Kreuz, The Conversation, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of dishonest
Noun
  • Years of deception, half-truths, and emotional compromises finally surface, forcing Rasheda, Geneva, Naomi, Tiffany, and Bridgette to confront not just the men in their lives, but one another.
    — Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 27 Aug. 2026
  • Prevention of fraud, deception and public accountability are reasons given for this suggestion.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of deception
Verb
  • Your eyes aren't deceiving you — the little delivery robots rolling down Washington DC streets are becoming a more common sight.
    — Mike Stunson, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Oura is facing accusations of deceiving customers about the accuracy of its sleep-tracking features on its popular smart rings.
    — James Peckham, PC Magazine, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • Moments before, with Wells still at the plate and the Yankees leading 7-1, Flemming and color analyst Will Middlebrooks vented about Chisholm stealing second base and third base during the at-bat.
    — Brendan Kuty, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Check the leading management bestsellers and textbooks, including Gary Hamel’s Humanocracy, Eric Ries’s Incorruptible, Stephen Robbins and Mary Coulter’s Management and older classics like Michael Porter’s Competitive Strategy.
    — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of leading
Verb
  • Amid a scorching stretch, Bregman ends the month with his lifetime total now sitting at two.
    — Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • While sitting next to her at Sant Ambroeus in New York, Twine is as light and calm as ever, despite experiencing such pivotal life accomplishments in such quick succession.
    — Kiana Murden, Vogue, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of sitting
Verb
  • The trio were found hiding in a ditch about 200 yards from where they were pulled over, according to the news release.
    — Daniel McFadin, Arkansas Online, 31 Aug. 2026
  • After six months of war, the deadlock has left the Islamic Republic bitterly divided, while its ultimate arbiter, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, remains in hiding.
    — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of hiding
Adjective
  • Blanche is also confronting growing distrust of the Justice Department among judges, who in multiple cases have accused government lawyers of withholding information or misleading courts.
    — Alanna Durkin Richer, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Both made misleading statements when questioned by authorities, according to the lawsuit.
    — Chase Jordan August 27, Charlotte Observer, 27 Aug. 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 4 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on lying

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lying

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