Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The telling of lies about-one; calumniation: as, “backbiting and belying,”

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • verb Present participle of belie.

Etymologies

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Examples

  • Charles said easily, his expression belying none of his unease.

    Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011

  • Charles said easily, his expression belying none of his unease.

    Exit the Actress Priya Parmar 2011

  • Its title belying an emphasis on writers, "A Cabinet of Drawings" includes odd, amateur pieces-by Frieda and D. H. Lawrence, Arthur Conan Doyle, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry,

    artforum.com 2009

  • He began to inch away from Emma, his hopeful expression belying his outrage.

    The Devil Wears Plaid Teresa Medeiros 2010

  • His facial expression belying the cold stillness in those hard grey eyes.

    Purchased By The Billionaire Bianchin, Helen 2006

  • Still, throughout her writing, the biology Phd wears her scientific foundation and technical training on her sleeve, and her wording is sprinkled with turns-of-phrase belying her academic background.

    Green Mountain Daily - Front Page 2009

  • Hycy Burke was smart, quick, and cunning; but then he was traicherous -- something of a coward when he had his match -- strongly addicted to fiction in most of his narratives, and what was still a worse point about him, he had the infamous ingenuity, whenever he had a point to gain -- such as belying a boy and taking away his characther -- of making truth discharge all the blackguard duties of falsehoood.

    The Emigrants Of Ahadarra The Works of William Carleton, Volume Two William Carleton 1831

  • An already slim woman is frozen in front of her office's refrigerator, an inner monologue belying a complex barter system that could justify a piece of raspberry cheesecake.

    Yoplait Pulls Ad Said To Promote Eating Disorders 2011

  • Listening to the discussion of this question prompted a poignant reminder that, belying the stories of meteoric rise to success, there's the often-forgotten story of sweat and toil.

    Erdin Beshimov: Meeting The Right People: How I Was Inspired And What I Learned Erdin Beshimov 2011

  • “Lothaire will be just one among many vampires,” he replied coolly, belying his interest in this one.

    Dreams of a Dark Warrior Kresley Cole 2011

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