• Belie

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /bɪˈlʌɪ/
    • US IPA: /bɪˈlaɪ/, /bəˈlaɪ/
    • Rhymes: -aɪ

    Origin 1

    Alternative forms

    From Middle English belyen, beliggen, from Old English belicgan, bilicgan ("to lie around, surround, hedge in, encompass"), equivalent to -("around, by") + lie(to be positioned). Cognate with German beliegen.

    Full definition of belie

    Verb

    1. (transitive, obsolete) To lie around; encompass.
    2. (transitive, obsolete, of an army) To surround; beleaguer.

    Origin 2

    From Middle English belyen, beleoȝen, from Old English belēogan ("to deceive by lying, be mistaken"), from Proto-Germanic *bileuganą ("to belie"), equivalent to -("about") + lie(to deceive). Cognate with Old Frisian biliaga ("to belie"), Dutch beliegen ("to belie"), German belügen ("to lie to"), Swedish beljuga ("to tell lies about").

    Verb

    1. (transitive) To tell lies about; to slander. from 13th c.
      • ShakespeareThou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie him.
    2. (transitive) To give a false representation of, to misrepresent. from 17th c.
      • ShakespeareShould I do so, I should belie my thoughts.
      • 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.2.6.iv:He found it by experience, and made good use of it in his own person, if Plutarch belie him not ....
    3. (transitive) To contradict, to show (something) to be false. from 17th c.
      • DrydenTheir trembling hearts belie their boastful tongues.
    4. Her obvious nervousness belied what she said.
    5. (transitive, perhaps nonstandard) To be shown false by contradicting (something) that is true; to conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).
      • 2013, Elizabeth Koh, "Fighting Pest, Farmers Find Strange Ally: A Drought," New York Times, August 31, 2013The rosy outlook belies a struggle to achieve statewide eradication that has persisted since the insect first crossed the border from Mexico around 1892.
    6. His calm demeanor belied his inner sense of guilt.
    7. (transitive, perhaps nonstandard) To show, evince, demonstrate: to show (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.
      • 1993, Carol A. Mossman, Politics and Narratives of Birth: Gynocolonization from Rousseau to Zola, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-41586-6, page 28:A host of evidence is adduced by the accused, evidence whose sometimes self-contradictory nature belies a certain desperation.
    8. (obsolete) To mimic; to counterfeit.
    9. (transitive, obsolete) To fill with lies.
      • ShakespeareThe breath of slander doth belie all corners of the world.

    Synonyms

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