1
as in misrepresenting
to give a misleading impression of
his bright smile belied his actual mood, which was really one of great sadness
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in refuting
to prove to be false
the latest information belies the old theory
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in obscuring
to keep secret or shut off from view
the security council issued false assurances that belied the true gravity of the situation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of belying
Then Danielle and Michèle dance, with a casual tenderness belying how charged the moment is for Michèle.
—
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
Inside, its luxurious custom leather seats and carbon fiber trim transform the Shelby into a quality cabin belying its F-150 roots.
—Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
On an unremarkable clay tennis court in the Spanish city of Alicante, watched on by only a handful of spectators, two teenagers swipe the ball to one another with surprising vigor, belying their scrawny, adolescent frames.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Henry communicates the weight of Ray’s past with a flicker in his gaze and a shadow that falls over his face, belying the easy confidence established by the character’s introduction.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
Adem Zorgane has long been a statistical anomaly in Belgian football, his incredible passing numbers belying his position at the heart of a distinctly mid-table side.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Sep. 2025
Inside, its luxurious custom leather seats and carbon fiber trim transform the Shelby into a quality cabin belying its F-150 roots.
—Peter Lyon, Forbes.com, 27 Aug. 2025
On an unremarkable clay tennis court in the Spanish city of Alicante, watched on by only a handful of spectators, two teenagers swipe the ball to one another with surprising vigor, belying their scrawny, adolescent frames.
—George Ramsay, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2025
Henry communicates the weight of Ray’s past with a flicker in his gaze and a shadow that falls over his face, belying the easy confidence established by the character’s introduction.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 25 Aug. 2025
Adem Zorgane has long been a statistical anomaly in Belgian football, his incredible passing numbers belying his position at the heart of a distinctly mid-table side.
—Thom Harris, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for belying
Verb
-
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that Republicans were misrepresenting the Democratic Party's position.—
Dan Gooding,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Sep. 2025
-
Carr said Monday that Democrats are distorting his comments and misrepresenting the work at the FCC.—
Alexander Bolton,
The Hill,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Health experts and medical organizations are refuting claims of a link between Tylenol use during pregnancy and autism.—
Beth Warren,
Nashville Tennessean,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Barrett himself previously addressed the rumors surrounding his time off, refuting any suggestion that he had been removed from his position.—
Andrew Ravens,
MSNBC Newsweek,
18 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Meanwhile, this past weekend, reports emerged that two American military cargo jets deported people to Africa on flights that appear to have had their transponders turned off, preventing tracking by obscuring their locations from public flight databases and other nearby aircraft.—
Larisha Paul,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
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Differential privacy introduces controlled noise or randomness to datasets, obscuring individual details while maintaining collective patterns.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Snelling is currently charged with abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence and concealing the birth of an infant.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
1 Oct. 2025
-
Snelling was charged with tampering with physical evidence, concealing the birth of an infant and abuse of a corpse.—
Adam Sabes,
FOXNews.com,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
In June, a three-judge panel had ruled unanimously that teaching yoga is protected speech and that city officials had failed to show how the classes threaten public safety or prevent enjoyment of the city’s shoreline parks, overturning a lower court’s ruling.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 Sep. 2025
-
These were no youthful missteps corrected with time, but towering thinkers at the height of their powers overturning their own hard-won systems.—
Shai Tubali,
Big Think,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Johnson sat in the makeup chair for two hours undergoing a transformation process that resulted in the cauliflower ears, a specific browbone piece and other prosthetics, plus hiding his tattoos.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
4 Oct. 2025
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Keep scrolling to shop the best deals on plush bedding and area rugs hiding in Amazon’s home department.—
Isabel Garcia,
PEOPLE,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Luciano Valente pressed high onto McGinn, leaving midfield partner Hwang In-beom covering both No 10s.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
-
All kinds of high school sports events and the monster that was covering college recruiting.—
Nicole Young,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Oct. 2025
Verb
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On disguising combination moves behind an initial setup.—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
30 Sep. 2025
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Flores is excellent at scheming exotic blitzes and disguising pressure.—
Jason Lloyd,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Belying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belying. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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