mendacity

[ men-das-i-tee ]

noun

, plural men·dac·i·ties

1. the quality of being mendacious; untruthfulness; tendency to lie.

   Synonyms: deceit, untruth, lie, deception

2. an instance of lying; falsehood.

   Synonyms: deceit, untruth, lie, deception

mendacity

/ mɛnˈdeɪʃəs; mɛnˈdæsɪtɪ /

noun

1. the tendency to be untruthful
2. a falsehood

Derived Forms

• mendacious, adjective
• menˈdaciousness, noun
• menˈdaciously, adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of mendacity¹

1640–50; < Late Latin mendācitās falsehood, equivalent to Latin mendāci- (stem of mendāx ) given to lying, false + -tās -ty ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of mendacity¹

C17: from Late Latin mendācitās, from Latin mendāx untruthful

Example Sentences

But it’s the delusion and mendacity on display at Giuliani’s press conference that have more powerfully shaped American political culture.

From Los Angeles Times

A case of massive oppositional mendacity that borders on the hilarious — except that many people believed and continue to believe him, all evidence to the contrary.

From Los Angeles Times

For years, various politicians and pundits have yelled themselves hoarse over the danger of normalizing Trump’s chicanery, casual mendacity, outrageous divisiveness and outright criminal behavior.

From Los Angeles Times

A French military man of noble breeding, he is as formidable a fencer as he is a wordsmith — and he combines these skills with Olympian flair when lashing out at the mendacity and mediocrity that society enshrines.

From Los Angeles Times

We tend to think of Hitler's speeches, as presented and preserved in newsreels and documentaries, as spit-splattering rants, brimming with hatred and mendacity.

From Salon

Related Words

• deceit
• deception
• prevarication