Finesentence

Belied Meaning: Definition, Examples, and Translations

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belied

be-lied

🇺🇸 /bɪˈɫaɪd/ · 🇬🇧 /bɪlˈaɪd/

Definitions

Context #1 | Verb

to contradict

The word 'belied' means to contradict or show something to be false. It is often used to describe a situation where a person's appearance or actions are deceptive, revealing a contrast between what is apparent and what is true.

Synonyms

contradicted, disproved, falsified.

Examples of usage

  • Her calm demeanor belied the chaos around her.
  • The statistics belied the common belief about crime rates.
  • His cheerful smile belied his true feelings of sadness.
Context #2 | Verb

to show falsehood

Additionally, 'belied' can refer to failing to fulfill or justify a claim, expectation, or appearance. In this sense, it is used to highlight a discrepancy between a promise and the reality.

Synonyms

betrayed, denied, disguised.

Examples of usage

  • The team's performance belied their potential.
  • Their actions belied their words.
  • The luxury car's price belied its features.

Translations

To see the translation, please select a language from the options available.

Quick facts about “belied”

Belied is a 2-syllable verb (be-lied). It is pronounced /bɪˈɫaɪd/ in American English and /bɪlˈaɪd/ in British English. On finesentence.com it has 2 meanings, 6 synonyms, and translations into 21 languages. It ranks #22,864 among the most common English words.

Origin of 'belied'

The word 'belie' has its roots in Old English 'beliegan', which means 'to lie to', composed of 'be-' indicating 'by' or 'around' and 'liegan' meaning 'to lie'. The term evolved through Middle English, where it maintained its meaning of deceiving or showing something to be false. Over the centuries, 'belie' has been incorporated into the English language to express the idea of contradiction, often revealing truth beneath a deceptive facade. Its usage has remained consistent in literature and everyday conversation, capturing the essence of appearances versus reality.

Rhymes

Belied rhymes with eide, fide, flied, ide, misapplied, misguide, one-eyed and retried.

See all rhymes →

Word Frequency Rank

Positioned at #22,864, this word is part of extensive vocabulary. It's relatively rare in general usage but may be important in specific fields or formal writing.