belie

present singular third person belies · participle present belying · past belay · participle past belain · alternative obsolete bely

1. datedtransitiveTo lie around; encompass.

   When little worlds collide, I'm trapped inside my embryonic cell / And flashing memories are cast into the never-ending well / The name that scorns the face / The child that never sees the cause of man / The deathly darkness that / Belies the fate of those who never ran

   1973, “A National Acrobat”, in Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, performed by Black Sabbath

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   but I… have, you know… But whenever China does something, whenever China figure out something, I… they always very quickly figure out to commercialize it, and commodify it, to make it significantly affordable. And, I think that's what's gonna happen here, and I think that's… a lot of the copium belies kinda the deep American anxiety of China catching up. What is your take on that Dr. Powell?

   2026 July 25, 12:27 from the start, in China Just Sent America a Message… And Washington Heard It Dr Warwick Powell (Video streaming), Carl Zha (actor)

2. obsoletetransitiveTo surround; beleaguer.

present singular third person belies · participle present belying · participle past belied · past belied · alternative obsolete bely

1. archaictransitiveTo tell lies about.First known use 13th c.

   Thou do’ſt bely him Percy, thou doſt bely him; / He never did encounter with Glendower:

   c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii], page 51

   Synonyms: slander, calumniate

2. transitiveTo give a false representation of.First known use 17th c.

   Her smooth complexion and dark hair belie her actual age.

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   Should I do ſo I ſhould bely my thoughts, / Comfort's in heauen, and we are on the earth[…]

   1595 December 9 (first known performance), [William Shakespeare], The Tragedie of King Richard the Second. […] (First Quarto), London: […] Valentine Simmes for Androw Wise, […], published 1597, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii]

   Pand. Lady, you vtter madneſſe, and not ſorrow. Con. Thou art [not] holy to belye me ſo, I am not mad: This haire I teare is mine

   c. 1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Iohn”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 12, column 1

   He found it by experience, and made good uſe of it in his owne perſon, if Plutarch bely him not[…].

   1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy. […], 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Robert Young, Miles Flesher, and Leonard Lichfield and William Turner] for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 2, member 6, subsection iv, page 198

   Cambodia's apparent relative insignificance belied its geopolitical importance.

   2013 April 3, Patrick Heenan, The Southeast Asia Handbook, Taylor & Francis, →ISBN, page 132

   Opposite, the Loram site contains a real ragbag of yellow, blue or rust-streaked kit whose appearance belies their importance in keeping the railways running.

   2020 November 18, Paul Bigland, “New infrastructure and new rolling stock”, in Rail, page 49

   Synonyms: misrepresent

3. transitiveTo contradict, to show (something) to be false.First known use 17th c.

   Her obvious nervousness belied what she said.

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   Their trembling Hearts bely their boaſting Tongues.

   1681, John Dryden, The Spanish Fryar: Or, the Double Discovery. […], London: […] Richard Tonson and Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, Act III, page 43

   Early Chinese Buddhist travellers like O'Kong (AD 759-763) mention the use of kesar in Buddhist Viharas for various rituals, and also in making paint for Buddhist scrolls and thankas. This fact belies the earlier myth that would have us believe that kesar was not known prior to Lalitaditya's reign.

   2001, Arun Kaul, “Kesar: The cultural geography of Kashmir”, in The Human Landscape, page 227

   In smooth RP tones that belie his German parentage, he explains that none of his hachet jobs were written out of personal animosity.

   2016 April 9, Philip Oltermann, “Michael Hofmann: ‘English is basically a trap. It’s almost a language for spies’”, in The Guardian, →ISSN

   Belying his reputation as some kind of peacenik, [Dario] Amodei is keen for democratic governments to exploit the advantages of these powerful AI models to counter authoritarian governments, such as Russia and China, and support allies, including Ukraine and Taiwan.

   2026 April 18, John Thornhill, “Lunch with the FT: Dario Amodei”, in FT Weekend (Life & Arts section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 3

   Synonyms: contradict, give the lie to, put the lie to, give lie to, put lie to, put to lie

4. raretransitiveTo call a liar; to accuse of falsehood.First known use 17th c.

   They haue belyed the Lord, and ſaid; It is not he, neither ſhall euill come vpon vs, neither ſhal we ſee ſwoꝛd noꝛ famine.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Jeremiah 5:12, column 1

5. raretransitiveTo fill with lies; to lie to.

   Three belied you, three betrayed you! One you betrayed was three times true! Lord Voryn Dagoth, Dagoth Ur, steadfast liegeman, faithful friend, bids you come and climb Red Mountain!

   2002 May 1, Bethesda Softworks, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind, →OCLC, Microsoft Windows, scene: Ashlander Informant

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   No, ’tis Slander, / Whoſe edge is ſharper then the Sword, whoſe tongue / Out-venomes all the Wormes of Nyle, whoſe breath / Rides on the poſting windes, / and doth belye All corners of the World.

   1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene iv], page 382, column 2

6. transitiveperhaps nonstandardTo conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).

   His calm demeanor belied his inner sense of guilt.

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   The rosy outlook belies a struggle to achieve statewide eradication that has persisted since the insect first crossed the border from Mexico around 1892.

   2013 August 31, Elizabeth Koh, “Fighting Pest, Farmers Find Strange Ally: A Drought”, in New York Times

   At NIE the virtually monolingual linguistic landscape basically belies a quite different multilingual reality.

   2019, Li Huang, James Lambert, “Another Arrow for the Quiver: A New Methodology for Multilingual Researchers”, in Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development, →DOI, page 8

7. transitiveperhaps nonstandardTo show, evince or demonstrate (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.

   […] a low, flat, boring building that belies its past as an IRS facility […]

   2016 August 3, Jeanne Marie Laskas, “Inside the Federal Bureau Of Way Too Many Guns”, in GQ Online

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   A host of evidence is adduced by the accused, evidence whose sometimes self-contradictory nature belies a certain desperation

   1993, Carol A. Mossman, Politics and Narratives of Birth: Gynocolonization from Rousseau to Zola, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 28

8. obsoleteTo mimic; to counterfeit.

   Which durſt with horſes hoofs that beat the ground / And Martial brass bely the thunders ſound.

   1660, [John] Dryden, Astraea Redux, page 11

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   The Shape of Man, and imitated beſt; / The Walk, the Words, the Gesture cou'd ſupply, / The Habit mimick, and the Mien bely[…]

   1700, [John] Dryden, “Ceyx and Alcyone”, in Fables Ancient and Modern; […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC, page 373