mendacious
adjective
men·da·cious
| \ men-ˈdā-shəs
\
\
Definition of mendacious
: given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or divergence from absolute truth
mendacious tales of his adventures
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Examples of mendacious in a Sentence
Indeed, the racist and Malthusian elements in Darwin's work are subjects on which the new secularists are either silent, delicate, or mendacious.
— Eugene McCarraher, Commonweal, 15 June 2007
A choice item in the collection of mendacious stories that were circulated about Columbus after his death is this. Columbus lost himself on the way to Hispaniola, and only by virtue of letters and pilots sent by Martín Alonso did he manage to find the island and join Pinta.
— Samuel Eliot Morison, Admiral of the Ocean Sea, 1942
Mildred had become great friends with her and had given her an elaborate but mendacious account of the circumstances which had brought her to the pass she was in.
— W. Somerset Maugham, Of Human Bondage, 1915
The newspaper story was mendacious and hurtful.
that tabloid routinely publishes the most moronically mendacious stories about celebrities
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Recent Examples on the Web
If someone is mendacious, know enough to walk away. — Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, "Horoscopes: Aug. 26, 2019," 26 Aug. 2019 At a rally in North Carolina on Wednesday evening, President Trump rattled off mendacious statements about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), a Somali American politician who has become a frequent target of attacks from the right. — Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, "As Trump wages a race war, intellectual nationalists try to keep pace," 19 July 2019 While intraparty tussles are perennial in politics, this one comes against a unique backdrop: an unpopular, mendacious, norm-trampling President. — Molly Ball, Time, "What Do the Democrats Stand For? Inside a Fight Over America's Future," 25 July 2019 Johnson has not, yet, proved himself to be as aggressively mendacious as Trump. — Cassie Werber, Quartz, "The terrifying appeal of Boris Johnson, according to a Johnson voter," 18 July 2019 Oberlin alumni who are exhorted to contribute to this college, which has been made stupid and mendacious by politics, should ponder where at least $22 million is going. — George Will, National Review, "Oberlin Has Graduated from Self-Caricature to Disgrace," 20 June 2019 Oberlin alumni who are exhorted to contribute to this college, which has been made stupid and mendacious by politics, should ponder where at least $22 million is going. — George Will, Twin Cities, "George Will: Oberlin has graduated from self-caricature to disgrace," 20 June 2019 Further, Gorcenski’s presenting himself as a female is untruthful, mendacious and deceptive. — Ian Shapira, Washington Post, "He once defended the poor in court. Now he defends white supremacists.," 2 July 2018 But it could be argued that consumers are dealing with many of the same issues, from devious advertising to mendacious propaganda. — Michael J. Socolow, Smithsonian, "In its Heyday, Mad Magazine Was a Lot More Than Silly Jokes," 11 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mendacious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for mendacious
mendacious
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of mendacious
formal
: not honest : likely to tell lies
: based on lies
See the full definition for mendacious in the English Language Learners Dictionary