Nearby Words

belie

[bih-lahy] Example Sentences Origin

be·lie

[bih-lahy]
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:
before 1000; Middle English belyen, Old English belēogan. See be-, lie1

be·li·er, noun
un·be·lied, adjective


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


1. prove, verify, support.

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Belie is a GRE word you need to know.
So is maverick. Does it mean:
an unbranded calf that is separated from its mother, or a lone dissenter who takes an independent stand apart from his or her associates
indifferent to or unaffected by pleasure or pain
Example Sentences
  • Night owls belie slacker reputation by staying alert longer.
  • The simplicity of text and art belie masterly craftsmanship.
  • Price inflation indexes belie the actual increase in the cost of living .
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Collins
World English Dictionary
belie (bɪˈlaɪ)
 
vb , -lies, -lying, -lied
1.  to show to be untrue; contradict
2.  to misrepresent; disguise the nature of: the report belied the real extent of the damage
3.  to fail to justify; disappoint
 
[Old English belēogan; related to Old Frisian biliuga, Old High German biliugan; see be-, lie1]
 
be'lier
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

belie
O.E. beleogan "to deceive by lies," from be- + lie (v.1) "to lie, tell lies." Current sense of "to contradict as a lie" is first recorded 1640s. The other verb lie once also had a formation like this, from O.E. belicgan, which meant "to encompass, beleaguer,"
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and in M.E. was a euphemism for "to have sex with" (i.e. "to lie with carnally").
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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