Definition of mendaciousnext

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective mendacious differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of mendacious are deceitful, dishonest, and untruthful. While all these words mean "unworthy of trust or belief," mendacious may suggest bland or even harmlessly mischievous deceit and when used of people often suggests a habit of telling untruths.

mendacious tales of adventure

When is deceitful a more appropriate choice than mendacious?

The words deceitful and mendacious are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, deceitful usually implies an intent to mislead and commonly suggests a false appearance or double-dealing.

the secret affairs of a deceitful spouse

When might dishonest be a better fit than mendacious?

In some situations, the words dishonest and mendacious are roughly equivalent. However, dishonest implies a willful perversion of truth in order to deceive, cheat, or defraud.

a swindle usually involves two dishonest people

In what contexts can untruthful take the place of mendacious?

The meanings of untruthful and mendacious largely overlap; however, untruthful stresses a discrepancy between what is said and fact or reality.

an untruthful account of their actions

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of mendacious President Trump is mendacious, vengeful, and unscrupulous. Krista Kafer, Denver Post, 20 Oct. 2025 But future generations in China, those not bound by the same baggage as the Xi family, may someday find their voice and want to overturn Mao’s old mendacious order. Foreign Affairs, 20 Oct. 2025 At Comedy Central, Colbert rose to prominence playing a slightly exaggerated version of Bill O’Reilly and other unapologetically mendacious Fox News pundits from the George W. Bush years. Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 18 July 2025 The true story reveals both how freedom of speech first came to be conceived of as a mechanism for truth, an antidote to falsehood, and the foundation of all liberty—and that, ironically, this new and powerful theory was itself a deliberately mendacious fiction. Fara Dabhoiwala, Harpers Magazine, 4 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for mendacious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for mendacious
Adjective
  • This is both obvious and a bit misleading.
    Shayna Goldman, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
  • By the end of his first term, The Washington Post had documented 30,573 false or misleading claims.
    Letters to the Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • That doesn't mean the dealer is dishonest, though.
    Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026
  • Multiple points of validation will help combat dishonest applicants, Rowe told lawmakers at the time.
    Alex Derosier, Twin Cities, 9 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Congress foolishly downsized that number in the 1980s and ’90s on the erroneous belief that more doctors would encourage unnecessary health care consumption.
    Betsy McCaughey, Boston Herald, 8 Feb. 2026
  • Civilians misidentified as undercover officers have been chased by anti-ICE mobs in public, even while the victims were going about their daily lives, based on erroneous reporting from fellow ICE monitors.
    Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 4 Feb. 2026
Adjective
  • Trump, of course, was rude, untruthful, and excessively, if not quite so egregiously, long-winded in his first term, too.
    Susan B. Glasser, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
  • The search led her to a nearby house — and into a complicated situation involving several untruthful children and their parents.
    Tereza Shkurtaj, PEOPLE, 15 Dec. 2025
Adjective
  • He was found dead lying face up on his hotel bed with no signs of trauma, according to a Monday report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
    Kenan Draughorne, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2022
Adjective
  • Authorities did not provide additional details about the agents' apparently false statements.
    Nicole Acevedo, NBC news, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Nevertheless, Worden continued to promote the false claim to news outlets and hired a media consultant to amplify it, the documents said.
    Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 13 Feb. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Mendacious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/mendacious. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.

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