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belie

 - 3 dictionary results

be⋅lie

  [bi-lahy]
Use belie in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -lied, -ly⋅ing.
1. to show to be false; contradict: His trembling hands belied his calm voice.
2. to misrepresent: The newspaper belied the facts.
3. to act unworthily according to the standards of (a tradition, one's ancestry, one's faith, etc.).
4. Archaic. to lie about; slander.
Origin:
bef. 1000; ME belyen, OE belēogan. See be-, lie 1

Related forms:
be⋅li⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. refute, disprove, controvert, repudiate, confute, gainsay. 1, 2. See misrepresent.

Antonyms:
1. prove, verify, support.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To belie
be·lie   (bĭ-lī')   
tr.v.   be·lied, be·ly·ing, be·lies

  1. To give a false representation to; misrepresent: "He spoke roughly in order to belie his air of gentility" (James Joyce).

  2. To show to be false; contradict: Their laughter belied their outward grief.


[Middle English bilien, from Old English belēogan, to deceive with lies; see leugh- in Indo-European roots.]
be·li'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

belie 
O.E. beleogan "to deceive," from be- + lie (v.1) "to lie, tell lies." Current sense of "to contradict as a lie" is first recorded 1649. See lie. The other verb lie once also had a formation like this, from O.E. belicgan, which meant "to encompass, beleaguer," and in M.E. was a euphemism for "to have sex with" (i.e. "to lie with carnally").
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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