mendacity

noun

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men·dac·i·ty | \ men-ˈda-sə-tē

plural mendacities

Definition of mendacity

1 : the quality or state of being mendacious to blow the whistle on mendacity and hypocrisy— Geoffrey Wolff

2 : lie mendacities of the singer's manager

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about mendacity

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Examples of mendacity in a Sentence

highly fictionalized “memoirs” in which the facts were few and the mendacities many you need to overcome this deplorable mendacity, or no one will ever believe anything you say

Recent Examples on the Web Writing in these pages last year, Fintan O’Toole adeptly analyzed the prime minister’s compulsive mendacity. — Ian Johnson, The New York Review of Books, "A Difficult Birth in Britain’s Stressed Health Service," 4 June 2020 The Chinese example, even discounting for the habitual mendacity of the Xi government, indicates that this could certainly happen within the more than seven months that remain before the election. — Conrad Black, National Review, "Breaking Down the Political Fallout from Coronavirus," 17 Mar. 2020 Some of the ads were standard fare about national security or the debt; others were designed to help Trump’s mendacity and nativism go viral on social media, where lies and fractious memes are disproportionately likely to be amplified. — Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, "The Man Behind Trump’s Facebook Juggernaut," 2 Mar. 2020 This election has been marinated in mendacity: big lies and small lies; quarter truths and pseudo-facts; distortion, dissembling and disinformation; and digital skulduggery on an industrial scale. — The Economist, "Bagehot Truth has been the first casualty of Britain’s election," 5 Dec. 2019 What is new is the degree to which voters are prepared to back leaders who seem to revel in their mendacity. — The Economist, "You really can fool some of the people, all of the time," 2 Nov. 2019 The Atlantic is proud to publish such hate-inducing mendacity. — Dennis Prager, National Review, "Chronicling the Left’s Lies," 6 Aug. 2019 In 2016, his energy, and popularity — and, critics say, mendacity — played a key role in the EU referendum campaign. — Washington Post, "Boris Johnson’s chaotic path to power finally pays off," 23 July 2019 His creepy persona reflects the winking mendacity and distracting stunts that typify his real-life rule. — The Economist, "A bold new play about Alexander Litvinenko’s murder," 5 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mendacity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.