lying 1 of 4

lying

2 of 4

verb (1)

present participle of lie

lying

3 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

Synonyms & Similar Words

2
3
as in hiding
to remain out of sight paparazzi were lying in wait outside the restaurant, a well-known celebrity hangout

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

lying

4 of 4

noun

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
Verb
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
Channel imaginative ideas or simply enjoy lying low more now. Kyle Thomas, People.com, 13 Apr. 2025 But lying about Social Security isn’t new. Stanley S. Litow, New York Daily News, 13 Apr. 2025 Channel imaginative ideas or simply enjoy lying low more now. Kyle Thomas, People.com, 13 Apr. 2025 But lying about Social Security isn’t new. Stanley S. Litow, New York Daily News, 13 Apr. 2025 Bury me face down so Boeing and their lying a** leaders can kiss my a**. Bill Chappell, NPR, 21 Mar. 2025 Earlier in the episode during the lying game, Selena tried to convince Blanco and Fallon that one time her dog ran away on set and Paul Rudd found it. Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 21 Mar. 2025 Bury me face down so Boeing and their lying-a-- leaders can kiss my a--. Audrey Conklin, Fox News, 21 Mar. 2025 Bury me face down so Boeing and their lying a** leaders can kiss my a**. Bill Chappell, NPR, 21 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lying
Adjective
  • Such attempts are dangerous not only for being dishonest but also for missing aspects of customer quality, without which businesses risk falling into the low-price trap.
    Mindaugas Čaplinskas, Forbes.com, 21 Aug. 2025
  • Starring Braff as Andy, the film's protagonist, and Natalie Portman as his eccentric and compulsively dishonest love interest, the film is often compared to The Graduate (1967), but remains a singular romantic comedy that demands an emotional reaction from its audience.
    James Mercadante, EW.com, 14 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Those convictions ended up being tossed by the Supreme Court, which ruled that the scheme, while involving deception and corruption, did not violate federal law.
    Zach LaChance, The Washington Examiner, 25 Aug. 2025
  • None of those terms is easily quantifiable, though training facilities such as Driveline Baseball are studying the details that produce deception.
    Stephen J. Nesbitt, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • At one point, Ryan thought he’d been traded when an erroneous report made the social media rounds.
    Aaron Gleeman, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025
  • The examples and notes in question were and are erroneous and inconsistent with our policies, and have been removed.
    Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Adjective
  • At Comedy Central, Colbert rose to prominence playing a slightly exaggerated version of Bill O’Reilly and other unapologetically mendacious Fox News pundits from the George W. Bush years.
    Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 18 July 2025
  • The true story reveals both how freedom of speech first came to be conceived of as a mechanism for truth, an antidote to falsehood, and the foundation of all liberty—and that, ironically, this new and powerful theory was itself a deliberately mendacious fiction.
    Fara Dabhoiwala, Harpers Magazine, 4 June 2025
Noun
  • My sign language instructor once told me that there’s dishonesty in words.
    Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 20 Aug. 2025
  • Which is why, having failed to stop the coming spending cuts with preening puffery and shameless dishonesty, defenders of taxpayer dollars for public media have pulled out the last tool out of their political toolbox.
    Michael Graham, Boston Herald, 18 July 2025
Adjective
  • Officers making contact with Hyatt noted an odor of intoxicants, staggering gait, confusion and illogical, untruthful responses to questions, according to the motion.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 18 Aug. 2025
  • The deficient vice of integrity is being fake, untruthful, inconsistent, unprincipled, and manipulative.
    Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 17 July 2025
Noun
  • Hugo would likely have been repelled and fascinated by Trump’s demagoguery, his rambling mendacity, his grammatically illogical but easy-to-follow oratory.
    Graham Robb, The Atlantic, 9 June 2025
  • By promoting dissimulation and sanctifying mendacity, Trump’s tsarist regime works to silence knowledge.
    Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
  • As a part of the settlement, the false electors acknowledged their actions were used in an attempt to overturn an election.
    Jessie Opoien, jsonline.com, 23 Aug. 2025
  • It’s been a huge year for lashes: Brown and colored mascaras made a comeback, and people have been having fun with false lashes again.
    Sophia Panych, Allure, 22 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Lying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lying. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.

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