to bend the truth
3
5.9
- idiom
:
distorsionar la verdad
- You know, I think in these situations it's okay to bend the truth just a little bit.
- bend the truth little
- willing to bend the truth
But Santos assures us he is done bending the truth.
- But Santos assures us he is done bending the truth.
- And so so it bend the truth from time to time.
- And even some of the most honest people in this world still have a moment where they make bend the truth, OK?
Examples
-
Everyone is capable of bending the truth because everyone has different backgrounds.
Blog text (5) -
Politicians sometimes bend the truth to gain support from voters.
-
Not that she sets out to bend the truth.
Fiction book (1994) -
Sure, they all bend the truth.
Blog text (24) -
People who bend the truth usually bend it in their favor.
Blog text (23) -
As we all know by now, politicians have a tendency to bend the truth in their direction.
Blog text (25) -
But while it bothers us to tell lies at home, it appears that we may be more likely to bend the truth at work.
Blog text (20) -
Perhaps this article is trying to bend the truth or apply Greta's words out of context in order to make some sort of political statement on an important social issue.
Blog text (16) -
I am sure Khosla truly believes that this is one of the steps we need to take as a country, and it appears that he is willing to bend the truth to make it happen.
Blog text (29) -
From my perspective, DJ Grothe has fallen victim to a small, but somewhat influential, political faction of the secularist movement that is all too willing to bend the truth and distort reality in an effort to expand their own power base.
Blog text (18)
Synonyms
∞
1.3
To say something that is not true to trick someone
270
3.9
To make someone believe something that is not true to get an advantage
144
6.3
To change what someone said to make it mean something different, often to mislead
97
4.6
To change facts so they become false or misleading
87
3.9
Make someone believe something that is not true
71
6.9
Give a false story about someone or something to trick people
44
7.3
To make documents or facts not true to deceive people
30
7.4
To change facts or stories so they are not true
23
8.0
To make something sound better to hide problems
19
5.0
Make something unpleasant seem nicer than it is
11
7.5
To change numbers or facts dishonestly to hide the truth
10
7.7
To change something to hide the truth
10
8.0
To describe a person or thing unfairly
7
8.2
To trick someone by hiding the truth
5
5.3
To make a story seem better than it really is
3
9.1
To avoid giving a direct answer to hide the truth
1
6.4
Change words or facts to make a person look bad
1
9.6
To try to trick someone by saying things that are not true
Change facts on purpose to make something seem better
To tell someone a false story to impress or trick them
To tell a story in a way that makes what happened sound bigger or not true
Make someone believe something false to trick them
Antonyms
How Accurate
50
7.3
∞
1.3
3
5.9
- Informal
56
3.6
814
2.7
Surface Forms
Morphology
The verb 'bend' (to curve or alter) applied to 'truth' creates a straightforward metaphor of changing or distorting facts, so a learner who knows both words can infer the general idea of altering what is true. However, the exact nuance (slightly misrepresenting rather than literally bending or completely inventing) is metaphorical and not fully predictable, making the expression only partially compositional.
Etymology
The idiom bend the truth paints a simple picture: imagine truth as a straight bar and bend as a small twist that makes it no longer straight. So, when someone 'bends the truth' they change the facts a little to make them seem better, which is why the phrase means 'to change facts a little'.