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
-
Translate all documents given to detainees into Spanish and refrain from misrepresenting their contents.—
Gabe Whisnant,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Their false-ownership counterclaim — accusing Hill of misrepresenting authorship in copyright filings — survived an anti-SLAPP motion to strike in September 2024; Hill has appealed that ruling to the Ninth Circuit.—
Mike Fleming Jr,
Deadline,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The film spends the next hour and 50 minutes refuting that idea.—
Sadie Sartini Garner,
Pitchfork,
24 Oct. 2025
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Michaels took to her Instagram days after the release of Fit for TV to post a series of screenshots of text chains, email threads, and other pieces of documentation refuting or otherwise complicating each claim leveled at her.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The video screen split into panels that lifted up and down throughout the show, always obscuring a large part of the stage.—
Angie Martoccio,
Rolling Stone,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Breaking up or obscuring the reflection makes the glass visible to birds, preventing them from hitting your windows.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Shoplifting by concealing merchandise.—
Isabelle Friedman,
Boston Herald,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Yet the nonprofit appears to be concealing this from visitors to its website, where a search function, the only nontechnical tool for seeing what’s in Common Crawl’s archives, returns misleading results for certain domains.—
Alex Reisner,
The Atlantic,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Conservative Supreme Court Justice's Views on Obergefell Conservative Justice Clarence Thomas, joined by Justice Samuel Alito, signaled interest in reexamining past precedents like Obergefell in a concurrence with the Supreme Court's 2022 ruling overturning Roe.—
Jason Lemon,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Nov. 2025
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With this reasoning, the Court ruled against Scott and legalized slavery in the territories by overturning the Missouri Compromise.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
Verb
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This mismatch between perception and reality has real consequences, fueling the notion that higher education as a whole is elitist and out of touch, hiding the work of the colleges that educate millions of working- and middle-class families.—
Yolanda Watson Spiva,
Fortune,
8 Nov. 2025
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Then keep scrolling to shop more of the best pieces hiding in Pottery Barn’s outlet now.—
Maggie Horton,
PEOPLE,
8 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Emma Burleigh is a reporter at Fortune, covering success, careers, entrepreneurship, and personal finance.—
Emma Burleigh,
Fortune,
9 Nov. 2025
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Bedford said during the news conference that air traffic controllers continuing to work during the shutdown are covering longer hours and more days.—
David Ferrara,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
9 Nov. 2025
Verb
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If Gardner is going to travel with the best receiver on the other team, the Colts will have a harder time disguising coverages in an era when disguise has become increasingly important for defenses.—
Mike Sando,
New York Times,
10 Nov. 2025
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No need to curb your enthusiasm here because Tony Hawk did a pretty, pretty good job disguising himself as the legendary Larry David.—
Diana Pearl,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Belying.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/belying. Accessed 15 Nov. 2025.
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