Definition of mendacious
: given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth mendacious tales of his adventures
mendaciously
adverbmendaciousness
nounPeople Are Reading
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Examples of mendacious in a Sentence
Indeed, the racist and Malthusian elements in Darwin's work are subjects on which the new secularists are either silent, delicate, or mendacious. —Eugene McCarraher, Commonweal, 15 June 2007
A choice item in the collection of mendacious stories that were circulated about Columbus after his death is this. Columbus lost himself on the way to Hispaniola, and only by virtue of letters and pilots sent by Martín Alonso did he manage to find the island and join Pinta. —Samuel Eliot Morison, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, 1942
Mildred had become great friends with her and had given her an elaborate but mendacious account of the circumstances which had brought her to the pass she was in. —W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915
The newspaper story was mendacious and hurtful.
that tabloid routinely publishes the most moronically mendacious stories about celebrities
Recent Examples of mendacious from the Web
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The Balfour Declaration plays a crucial role in their mendacious narrative depicting Zionism as a form of imperialism.
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Among the Afghan venders, the worst of the tamale wars took place in Seattle, where the trade was dominated by a Khan with a mafioso reputation: mean, mendacious, scary as hell.
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His speeches and tweets are dominated by the kind of constant name-calling, defensive outbursts, mendacious gossip and repugnant innuendos usually overheard during schoolyard recess.
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When Hanif’s English-language reporting has exposed corrupt or mendacious leaders, the official reaction has often been benign.
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Plus, everybody likes laughing at Ted Cruz, the mendacious eel who has finally departed the presidential race.
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The C.D.C. produced, in 2004, a mendacious paper concluding that water-lead levels in the city were lower and less concerning than had been reported, and that no children with dangerously high blood-lead levels had been found.
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Jim Inhofe and the Heartland Institute grifters and those criminally mendacious bastards at Exxon/Mobil can only wish to have his class.
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People are quick to mention that the people behind all of this are economically innumerate, politically opportunistic, personally mendacious, and often generally as dumb as a big old box of rocks.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mendacious'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of mendacious
Latin mendac-, mendax — more at amend
First Known Use: 1616
Synonym Discussion of mendacious
MENDACIOUS Defined for English Language Learners
mendacious
playDefinition of mendacious for English Language Learners
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: not honest : likely to tell lies
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: based on lies
Learn More about mendacious
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