belie

verb

be·​lie bi-ˈlī 

bē-

belied; belying

transitive verb

1

a

: to give a false impression of

Her gentleness belies her strength.

b

: to present an appearance not in agreement with

His manner and appearance belie his age.

2

a

: to show (something) to be false or wrong

The evidence belies their claims of innocence.

b

: to run counter to : contradict

… appeared to belie all the rosy things I had heard about it.

—Katherine T. Kinkead

3

: disguise sense 3

An air of rural charm … belies the community's industrial activity.

—American Guide Series: Pennsylvania

belier

bi-ˈlī(-ə)r 

bē-

noun

Did you know?

"What is a lie?" asks Lord Byron in Don Juan. He then answers himself: "'Tis but the truth in masquerade...." The history of belie illustrates a certain connection between lying and masquerading as something other than one is. In Old English, belie meant "to deceive by lying," but in time, it came to mean "to tell lies about," taking on a sense similar to that of the modern word slander. Eventually, its meaning softened, shifting from an act of outright lying to one of mere misrepresentation; by the 1700s, the word was being used in the sense "to disguise or conceal." Nowadays, belie is typically applied when someone or something gives an impression that is in disagreement with the facts, rather than in contexts where there is an intentional untruth. A happy face put on to set others at ease, for example, may belie an internal disgruntlement.

Synonyms

• misrepresent

Examples of belie in a Sentence

a tree whose delicate beauty belies its real toughness

Their actions belie their claim to be innocent.

Recent Examples on the Web

Rory’s passion belies those messages: Not dead yet! —Valerie Monroe, Allure, 25 Dec. 2024

Gelb’s populist tactic of pitting nice audiences against nasty critics belies the complex reality of how the repertory comes into being. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 23 Dec. 2024

Burnout and Algorithmic Bosses Such upbeat framings of the creator economy belie the perilous realities of work in this field. —Brooke Erin Duffy, Forbes, 18 Dec. 2024

The elegant facade belied its notorious history: The building served as the primary secret detention center for the military dictatorship that ruled Argentina from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s. —Joshua Hammer, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English belien, going back to Old English belēogan, from be- be- + lēogan "to lie entry 3"

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

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Kids Definition

belie

verb

be·​lie bi-ˈlī 

belied; belying

1

: to give a false idea of

her looks belied her age

2

: to show to be false

their actions belie their claim to be innocent

belier noun