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
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 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
Verb
As for the lows, sweater weather will officially arrive for Charlotte, with lows near 40 degrees this weekend, and a chance for patchy frost for out-lying areas, forecasters say. — Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026 The fight was now about accusations of lying, whether the item was for sale, and what actually happened in the store. — Bilin Lin, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 The smartphones lying idle in drawers could serve as brains for the bipedal bot. — Muskanbhatia, Interesting Engineering, 13 Oct. 2026 On the real robot, the team demonstrated walking, following a person with the camera and standing up from lying face down. — New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2026 Millions of votes are not yet cast, and anyone professing to know exactly what's going to happen is lying. — Domenico Montanaro, NPR, 13 Oct. 2026 The two officers walked into room 2030 and found Harrison's husband, Charles Harrison, lying dead on the mattress, according to a criminal complaint. — Tom Ignudo, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 That could mean recognizing the same conflict happening repeatedly with a co-worker, lying awake each night with racing thoughts, or turning to food or cigarettes during periods of stress, according to Resnick. — Melissa Rudy, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026 One of the eyewitnesses reported seeing an explosion and then seeing multiple people lying injured on the ground inside the airport. — CNN Money, 10 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
  • Of course, there are also age-old hustles so evidently dishonest that there was a time when their exponents risked being hung or shot.
    — Kit Chellel, Fortune, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Like the president, Vance describes Democrats as dishonest, pandering, and often stupid.
    — David Weigel, semafor.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of dishonest
Noun
  • Hosted by Alan Cumming, the social deduction game follows a group of contestants (who are sometimes celebrities) engaging in a Mafia or Werewolf-style game of deception.
    — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
  • With shifting alliances and deception, only the most calculating player will survive to win it all, per the logline.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of deception
Verb
  • Looking at wins and losses is useful and necessary, but often deceiving as to which team is better.
    — Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Oct. 2026
  • But 3-0 marks can be deceiving heading into a battle of unbeatens at home against Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs.
    — Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of deceiving
Verb
  • With the status of leading rusher Jeremy Payne up in the air, TCU will have to lean more into this offensive identity to support a defense and special teams unit playing at such an elite level.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 Oct. 2026
  • OpenAI has reportedly floated the idea of giving the government up to a 5% stake in the company and suggested other leading AI companies do the same.
    — Sarah Cannon, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of leading
Verb
  • Unfortunately, Mascis has developed a similar reputation as an interview subject, quietly sitting and offering deft nonanswers.
    — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge, 18 Oct. 2026
  • There is something fitting about seeing Deakins, whose work is so often studied and dissected by others, sitting among the audience, still looking and listening.
    — Callum McLennan, Variety, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of sitting
Verb
  • But this is in fact the opportunity hiding inside the greatest technological acceleration of our lifetimes.
    — Matt Alt, Fortune, 18 Oct. 2026
  • Apparently, as Ted Bundy, Kip’s been Paused since last night, hiding under the porch of an attractive law student who’s suddenly on to him.
    — George Saunders, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of hiding
Adjective
  • As a result, choosing a plan based solely on monthly premiums can be misleading.
    — Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 14 Oct. 2026
  • The Idaho Consumer Protection Act, enacted in 1971, protects consumers from false, deceptive or misleading representations, advertising, pricing and contracts.
    — Harllie Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, 14 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 19 Oct. 2026.

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Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about lying

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