as in misleading
telling or containing lies
that tabloid routinely publishes the most moronically mendacious stories about celebrities
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Recent Examples of mendacious
But future generations in China, those not bound by the same baggage as the Xi family, may someday find their voice and want to overturn Mao’s old mendacious order.
—
Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2025
At Comedy Central, Colbert rose to prominence playing a slightly exaggerated version of Bill O’Reilly and other unapologetically mendacious Fox News pundits from the George W. Bush years.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 18 July 2025
The true story reveals both how freedom of speech first came to be conceived of as a mechanism for truth, an antidote to falsehood, and the foundation of all liberty—and that, ironically, this new and powerful theory was itself a deliberately mendacious fiction.
—Fara Dabhoiwala, Harpers Magazine, 4 June 2025
Her unsettling command of the character — who was equal parts sweet, vulnerable, mendacious, and menacing — was one of the highlights of the series.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mendacious
Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2025
At Comedy Central, Colbert rose to prominence playing a slightly exaggerated version of Bill O’Reilly and other unapologetically mendacious Fox News pundits from the George W. Bush years.
—Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 18 July 2025
The true story reveals both how freedom of speech first came to be conceived of as a mechanism for truth, an antidote to falsehood, and the foundation of all liberty—and that, ironically, this new and powerful theory was itself a deliberately mendacious fiction.
—Fara Dabhoiwala, Harpers Magazine, 4 June 2025
Her unsettling command of the character — who was equal parts sweet, vulnerable, mendacious, and menacing — was one of the highlights of the series.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for mendacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mendacious
Adjective
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Experts immediately pointed out that Hassett had used a misleading method known as a cubic fit to make the mortality data appear less frightening.—
Rogé Karma,
The Atlantic,
7 Jan. 2026
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For its misleading omissions, the Times story deserves a flunking grade.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Like the other characters in the book, Harper is a stock figure, the brainiac child, but her fearlessness in the face of a crumbling, dishonest world reinvigorates the type.—
Hannah Gold,
New Yorker,
21 Jan. 2026
-
The American public gained a negative impression of McCarthy–many seeing him as bullying, reckless, and dishonest.—
Chris John Amorosino,
Hartford Courant,
16 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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That’s an extra $1,780 or so purely because the IRS concluded the erroneous position was intentional rather than mistaken.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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How to opt out Incorporating AI directly into Gmail could pose risks for Google, given that large language models can sometimes present erroneous or misleading information.—
Julia Doyle,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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Trump, of course, was rude, untruthful, and excessively, if not quite so egregiously, long-winded in his first term, too.—
Susan B. Glasser,
New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2026
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The search led her to a nearby house — and into a complicated situation involving several untruthful children and their parents.—
Tereza Shkurtaj,
PEOPLE,
15 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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He was found dead lying face up on his hotel bed with no signs of trauma, according to a Monday report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.—
Kenan Draughorne,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Jan. 2022
Adjective
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Over the past two years, attorneys for Meija have argued in post-conviction hearings that prosecutors introduced false and misleading testimony at trial and newly available scientific methods proved that Casiaono, who was submerged in a bathtub full of scalding water, died by accident.—
Tony Plohetski,
Austin American Statesman,
23 Jan. 2026
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Banfield’s defense attorney has accused prosecutors of offering Peres Magalhães a way out of prison in exchange for a false story to pin the murders on Banfield.—
Lauren del Valle,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Mendacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mendacious. Accessed 29 Jan. 2026.
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