Lie

Definition of Lie

Pronunciation: līd
n.1.See Lye.
1.A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive.
The proper notion of a lie is an endeavoring to deceive another by signifying that to him as true, which we ourselves think not to be so.
- S. Clarke.
It is willful deceit that makes a lie. A man may act a lie, as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction when a traveler inquires of him his road.
- Paley.
2.A fiction; a fable; an untruth.
3.Anything which misleads or disappoints.
Wishing this lie of life was o'er.
- Trench.
To give the lie to
a - To charge with falsehood; as, the man gave him the lie.
b - To reveal to be false; as, a man's actions may give the lie to his words.
White lie
a euphemism for such lies as one finds it convenient to tell, and excuses himself for telling.
v. i.1.To utter falsehood with an intention to deceive; to say or do that which is intended to deceive another, when he a right to know the truth, or when morality requires a just representation.
[imp. & p. p. Lied (līd); p. pr. & vb. n. Lying (lī"ĭng).]
1.To rest extended on the ground, a bed, or any support; to be, or to put one's self, in an horizontal position, or nearly so; to be prostate; to be stretched out; - often with down, when predicated of living creatures; as, the book lies on the table; the snow lies on the roof; he lies in his coffin.
[imp. Lay (lā); p. p. Lain (lān), (Lien (lī"ĕn), Obs.); p. pr. & vb. n. Lying.]
The watchful traveler . . .
Lay down again, and closed his weary eyes.
- Dryden.
2.To be situated; to occupy a certain place; as, Ireland lies west of England; the meadows lie along the river; the ship lay in port.
3.To abide; to remain for a longer or shorter time; to be in a certain state or condition; as, to lie waste; to lie fallow; to lie open; to lie hid; to lie grieving; to lie under one's displeasure; to lie at the mercy of the waves; the paper does not lie smooth on the wall.
4.To be or exist; to belong or pertain; to have an abiding place; to consist; - with in.
Envy lies between beings equal in nature, though unequal in circumstances.
- Collier.
He that thinks that diversion may not lie in hard labor, forgets the early rising and hard riding of huntsmen.
- Locke.
5.To lodge; to sleep.
Whiles I was now trifling at home, I saw London, . . . where I lay one night only.
- Evelyn.
Mr. Quinion lay at our house that night.
- Dickens.
6.To be still or quiet, like one lying down to rest.
The wind is loud and will not lie.
- Shak.
7.(Law) To be sustainable; to be capable of being maintained.
To lie along the shore
(Naut.) to coast, keeping land in sight.
To lie at the door of
to be imputable to; as, the sin, blame, etc., lies at your door.
To lie at the heart
to be an object of affection, desire, or anxiety.
To lie at the mercy of
to be in the power of.
- Sir W. Temple.
To lie by
a - To remain with; to be at hand; as, he has the manuscript lying by him.
b - To rest; to intermit labor; as, we lay by during the heat of the day.
To lie hard
to press or weigh; to bear hard.
To lie in
to be in childbed; to bring forth young.
To lie in one
to be in the power of; to belong to.
To lie in the way
to be an obstacle or impediment.
- Rom. xii. 18.
To lie in wait
to wait in concealment; to lie in ambush.
To lie on
a - To depend on; as, his life lies on the result.
b - To bear, rest, press, or weigh on.
To lie low
to remain in concealment or inactive.
To lie on hand
to remain unsold or unused; as, the goods are still lying on his hands; they have too much time lying on their hands.
To lie on the head of
to be imputed to.
What he gets more of her than sharp words, let it lie on my head.
- Shak.
n.1.The position or way in which anything lies; the lay, as of land or country.
He surveyed with his own eyes . . . the lie of the country on the side towards Thrace.
- Jowett (Thucyd.).

Related Words

aim, aspect, attitude, azimuth, be found, be located, be met with, be present, be situated, be there, be untruthful, bearing, bearings, beguile, bent, blague, bouncer, canard, carry, celestial navigation, cheat, cock-and-bull story, course, cover, crawl, current, dead reckoning, deceitfulness, deceive, delude, direction, direction line, dishonesty, distort, distortion, draw the longbow, drift, dwell in, encompass, environ, equivocate, evade, exaggerate, exaggeration, exist, exposure, extend, fable, fairy tale, falsification, falsify, falsity, farfetched story, farrago, fish story, fix, flam, flimflam, forgery, fraudulence, frontage, ghost story, go, go out, grovel, half-truth, heading, helmsmanship, hold, inaccuracy, inclination, indwell, inhere, inveracity, lay, legal fiction, libel, lie athwart, lie down, lie flat, lie flatly, lie in, lie limply, lie prone, lie prostrate, line, line of direction, line of march, line of position, little white lie, loll, lounge, mendacity, misguide, misinstruct, mislead, misrepresentation, misstate, misstatement, myth, navigation, occur, orientation, palter, pilotage, piloting, pious fiction, point, position, position line, prevaricate, quarter, radio bearing, range, reach, reach out, remain, reside, rest, ride, ride at anchor, ride easy, ride hawse full, run, set, shift, shift about, slight stretching, song and dance, span, speak falsely, sprawl, spread, stand, steerage, steering, story, straddle, stretch, stretch out, stretch the truth, surround, sweep, take in, tale, tall story, tall tale, taradiddle, tell a lie, tendency, tenor, thrust out, track, trend, trumped-up story, way, white lie, yarn
Word:

Browse

Lick-spigot
Lick-spittle
Licker
Licker in
Lickerish
Lickerous
Licking
Lickpenny
Licorice
Licorice fern
Licorice sugar
Licorice weed
Licorous
Licour
Lictor
Lid
Lidded
Lidge
Lidless
lido
-Lie-
Lieberkuhn
Lieberkuhn's glands
liebfraumilch
Liechtenstein
Liechtensteiner
Lied
Liederkranz
Liedertafel
Lief
Liefsome
Liegance
Liege
Liege homage
Liege poustie
Liege widowhood
Liegeman
Lieger
Liegiancy
Lien
Lienal
# A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

© 2014 Delaflex, Inc.Dictionary Home | Privacy Policy