belie
To lie around; encompassTo lie around; encompass.
» His trembling hands belied his calm attitude.
Seine zitternden Hände straften seine ruhige Haltung Lügen.
Meaning
10 senses(dated, transitive)To lie around; encompass.
(transitive)To give a false representation of.
Her smooth complexion and dark hair belie her actual age.
искажа́тьiskažátʹ
давати неправильне уявленняdavaty nepravylʹne ujavlennja
(transitive)To contradict, to show (something) to be false.
Her obvious nervousness belied what she said.
hinwegtäuschen über
противоре́читьprotivoréčitʹ, опровергатьoprovergatʹ
суперечитиsuperečyty
(rare, transitive)To call a liar; to accuse of falsehood.
(rare, transitive)To fill with lies; to lie to.
(transitive)To conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).
His calm demeanor belied his inner sense of guilt.
(transitive)To show, evince or demonstrate (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.
(obsolete, transitive)To surround; beleaguer.
(archaic, transitive)To tell lies about.
оклеветатьoklevetatʹ, оболгатьobolgatʹ
оббріхуватиobbrixuvaty
(obsolete)To mimic; to counterfeit.
- represent falsely
- be in contradiction with
Examples
12 sentencesHis trembling hands belied his calm attitude.
deSeine zitternden Hände straften seine ruhige Haltung Lügen.
Her calm face belied the terror she was feeling.
Tom's outward appearance belies the inner turmoil he's going through.
The tone in which those words were spoken utterly belied them.
Her girlish complexion belied the fact that she was over forty.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 3
By meaning 3
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English belyen, beliggen, from Old English beliċġan, biliċġan (“to lie around,From Middle English belyen, beliggen, from Old English beliċġan, biliċġan (“to lie around, surround, hedge in, encompass”), from Proto-West Germanic *biliggjan, from Proto-Germanic *biligjaną (“to lie around”). Equivalent to be- (“around, by”) + lie (“to be positioned”).
From Middle English belyen, beleoȝen, from Old English belēogan (“to deceive by lying, be mistaken”), from Proto-West Germanic *bileugan (“to belie”). Equivalent to be- (“about”) + lie (“to deceive”). Compare Dutch beliegen (“to lie about, tell lies”), German belügen (“to lie to someone”).
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Forms
belies, belying, belay, belainSynonyms
10 synonyms- represent falsely:misrepresent
- be in contradiction with:contradictnegate
Word family
3 related wordsLessons for this word
3 lessons- A1Present simple — Because it is a verb
- A1Past simple, irregular verbs — Because of its past form
- A2Present perfect: introduction — Because of its past participle