belied

Variant of belie

belie definition

be·lie (bē lī′, bi-)

transitive verb belied -·lied′, belying -·ly′·ing

  1. Archaic to tell lies about
  2. to give a false idea of; disguise or misrepresent his smile belies his anger
  3. to leave unfulfilled; disappoint war belied hopes for peace
  4. to show to be untrue; prove false her cruelty belied her kind words

Etymology: ME bilien < OE beleogan, to deceive by lying < be-, be- + leogan, lie

Related Forms:

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2009 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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