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mendacity

mendacity

7 9.3
A habit of often telling lies that makes it difficult for people to trust you
  • noun
  • /mɛnˈdæsɪti/
  • Formal
translation icon : mendacidad
  • His constant mendacity made it hard for anyone to trust him.
  • corruption and mendacity
  • political mendacity

Examples

  • As graduates of Goshen College, the church calls you to be agents of truth in a world of mendacity.

    Academic text (1992)
  • Didn't you notice the powerful and obnoxious odor of mendacity?

  • What do you know about mendacity?

  • There's nothing to live with but mendacity.

  • Boy, I've lived with mendacity.

  • Mendacity is the great sin that's destroying America.

  • The consequences of mendacity or evasion will be very unpleasant.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • The worst level of mendacity I've seen hasn't been from the candidates; it's been from the press.

    Blog text (17)
  • It's easy to become distracted by Mitt Romney's mendacity and obvious lies.

    Blog text (7)
  • The continuation of a relentless and increasingly unprincipled war on crime was the combined product of political mendacity, chronic defects in public rationality, and mass hysteria.

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

lying
vsmendacity
215 2.1

Telling something that is not true on purpose

is the overall quality of being untruthful rather than one single false statement
deceit
vsmendacity
66 4.6

Dishonest action meant to trick someone

is the general disposition to be untruthful, not only the trick or act
dishonesty
vsmendacity
46 3.2

Actions like lying, cheating, or stealing

focuses specifically on being untruthful rather than all forms of wrongdoing
duplicity
vsmendacity
12 8.1

Dishonest behavior that hides true intentions to trick someone

is the simple tendency to be untruthful rather than complex double-dealing
insincerity
vsmendacity
4 5.6

Not showing true feelings when you speak or act

is about habitual untruth rather than mainly hiding true feelings
disingenuousness
vsmendacity
3 8.8

A way of hiding the truth by pretending to be less involved

is the plain tendency to be untruthful rather than strategic pretense
deceitfulness
vsmendacity
2 6.5

Trying to make other people believe something that is not true

is the underlying habit of untruth rather than the specific misleading acts
falseness
vsmendacity
2 5.8

A way of speaking or acting that is not true

refers more to the moral tendency to be untruthful rather than simple falsity
fraudulence
vsmendacity
1 8.7

Dishonest behaviour that aims to get money or other unfair personal gain

is the general habit of untruthfulness, not always tied to gain
untruthfulness
vsmendacity
1 7.0

Saying things that are not true on purpose

is the broad tendency to be untruthful across actions rather than isolated acts
deceptiveness
vsmendacity
1 7.2

A quality that makes something seem true when it is false

is the broader disposition to lie rather than just creating a false impression
crookedness
vsmendacity
1 6.9

Dishonest behavior by a person or group

is focused on being untruthful itself rather than broader corrupt behaviour
snideness
vsmendacity
8.4

A false, not sincere way of speaking or behaving that hides true feelings

is the straightforward habit of lying rather than simply appearing unauthentic
obliquity
vsmendacity
  • Formal
9.9

Behavior that hides the truth to mislead people

is the simpler quality of untruthfulness rather than complex moral distortion
unscrupulousness
vsmendacity
8.8

A habit of ignoring right and wrong and being dishonest to get what you want

is the narrower trait of telling untruths rather than a full lack of morals

Antonyms

365 1.0

Being truthful and fair in what you say and do

27 7.6

Being honest and not telling lies

13 2.7

Being honest and not telling lies

How Dishonest

dishonesty
46 3.2
duplicity
12 8.1
mendacity
  • Formal
7 9.3
deceit
66 4.6
lying
215 2.1
untruth
16 5.5

Surface Forms

mendacity singular
mendacities plural

Morphology

mendacity = mendacious (semi-transparent) = mendac + ity

Standard noun formation from the adjective 'mendacious' using the productive suffix '-ity'; the noun denotes the quality of being mendacious.

Etymology

Mendacity comes from the Latin word mendax, meaning 'lying'. So mendacity is the habit or quality of being 'untruthful'.