Adjacent Words

Belie definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

BELI'E, v.t. [be and lie. See Lie.]
1. To give the lie to; to show to be false; to charge with falsehood; as, the heart belies the tongue. It is rarely used of declarations; but of appearances and facts which show that declarations, or certain appearances and pretences are false and hypocritical. Hence.
2. To counterfeit; to mimic; to feign resemblance.
With dust, with horse's hoofs, that beat the ground,]
And martial brass, belie the thunder's sound.
3. To give a false representation.
Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts.
4. To tell lies concerning; to calumniate by false reports.
Thou dost belie him, Percy.
5. To fill with lies.
Slander doth belie all corners of the world. [Not legitimate]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

v
1: be in contradiction with [syn: contradict, belie, negate]
2: represent falsely; "This statement misrepresents my intentions" [syn: misrepresent, belie]

Merriam Webster's

transitive verb (-lied; -lying) Date: before 12th century 1. a. to give a false impression of b. to present an appearance not in agreement with 2. a. to show (something) to be false or wrong b. to run counter to ; contradict 3. disguise 3 • belier noun

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v.tr. (belying) 1 give a false notion of; fail to corroborate (its appearance belies its age). 2 a fail to fulfil (a promise etc.). b fail to justify (a hope etc.). Etymology: OE beleogan (as BE-, leogan LIE(2))

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Belie Be*lie", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Belied; p. pr. & vb. n. Belying.] [OE. bilien, bili?en, AS. bele['o]gan; pref. be- + le['o]gan to lie. See Lie, n.] 1. To show to be false; to convict of, or charge with, falsehood. Their trembling hearts belie their boastful tongues. --Dryden. 2. To give a false representation or account of. Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts. --Shak. 3. To tell lie about; to calumniate; to slander. Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie him. --Shak. 4. To mimic; to counterfeit. [Obs.] --Dryden. 5. To fill with lies. [Obs.] ``The breath of slander doth belie all corners of the world.'' --Shak.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(belies, belying, belied) 1. If one thing belies another, it hides the true situation and so creates a false idea or image of someone or something. Her looks belie her 50 years. VERB: V n 2. If one thing belies another, it proves that the other thing is not true or genuine. The facts of the situation belie his testimony. = disprove VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

be-li': Is the translation of kachash, "to be untrue" (Jer 5:12), "They have belied the Lord" (the American Standard Revised Version "denied Yahweh"), here used as synonym of "give the lie to."

In The Wisdom of Solomon 1:11 "belle" translates katapseudomai (the kata prefix referring to the kata in katalalia in the same verse), "A mouth that belieth destroyeth a soul."

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

v. a. 1. Falsify, misrepresent, represent falsely. 2. Give the lie to, convict of falsehood, show to be false, charge with falsehood. 3. Contradict, controvert, go counter or contrary to. 4. Load with lies, lie about, slander, calumniate.

Moby Thesaurus

abjure, assert the contrary, be contrary to, blow sky-high, blow up, burlesque, call into question, camouflage, caricature, challenge, color, conceal, contest, contradict, contravene, controvert, counter, cross, deflate, deny, disaffirm, disallow, disavow, disclaim, disconfirm, discredit, disguise, disown, disprove, dispute, distort, dress up, embellish, embroider, exaggerate, explode, expose, falsify, forswear, fudge, gainsay, garble, gild, gloss, gloss over, hide, impugn, invalidate, join issue upon, mask, miscite, miscolor, misquote, misreport, misrepresent, misstate, misteach, negate, negative, not accept, not admit, nullify, oppose, oppugn, overdraw, overstate, parody, pervert, prove the contrary, puncture, rebut, recant, refuse to admit, refute, reject, renounce, repudiate, retract, revoke, show up, slant, strain, take back, take issue with, titivate, traverse, travesty, trick out, twist, undercut, understate, varnish, warp, whitewash, wrench