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Apocryphal vs Belie - What's the difference?

apocryphal | belie |

As an adjective apocryphal

is of, or pertaining to, the Apocrypha.

As a verb belie is

to lie around; encompass.

apocryphal

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Of, or pertaining to, the .
  • Of doubtful authenticity, or lacking authority; not regarded as canonical.
  • Many scholars consider the stories of the monk Teilo to be apocryphal .
  • Of dubious veracity; of questionable accuracy or truthfulness; anecdotal or in the nature of an urban legend.
  • There is an apocryphal tale of a little boy plugging the dike with his finger.
    {{quote-Fanny Hill, part=3 , Charles, already dispos'd by the evidence of his senses to think my pretences to virginity not entirely apocryphal , smothers me with kisses, begs me, in the name of love, to have a little patience, and that he will be as tender of hurting me as he would be of himself.}}

    belie

    English

    Alternative forms

    *

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) belyen, beliggen, from (etyl) belicgan, . Cognate with German beliegen.

    Verb

  • (obsolete) To lie around; encompass.
  • (transitive, obsolete, of an army) To surround; beleaguer.
  • Etymology 2

    From (etyl) belyen, .

    Verb

  • To tell lies about; to slander.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Thou dost belie him, Percy, thou dost belie him.
  • To give a false representation of, to misrepresent.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Should I do so, I should belie my thoughts.
  • *, II.2.6.iv:
  • He found it by experience, and made good use of it in his own person, if Plutarch belie him not […].
  • To contradict, to show (something) to be false.
  • * Dryden
  • Their trembling hearts belie their boastful tongues.
    Her obvious nervousness belied what she said.
  • To be shown false by contradicting (something) that is true; to conceal the contradictory or ironic presence of (something).
  • * 2013 , Elizabeth Koh, "Fighting Pest, Farmers Find Strange Ally: A Drought," New York Times, August 31, 2013
  • The rosy outlook belies a struggle to achieve statewide eradication that has persisted since the insect first crossed the border from Mexico around 1892.
    His calm demeanor belied his inner sense of guilt.
  • To show, evince, demonstrate: to show (something) to be present, particularly something deemed contradictory or ironic.
  • * 1993 , Carol A. Mossman, Politics and Narratives of Birth: Gynocolonization from Rousseau to Zola , Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0-521-41586-6, page 28:
  • A host of evidence is adduced by the accused, evidence whose sometimes self-contradictory nature belies a certain desperation.
  • (obsolete) To mimic; to counterfeit.
  • (Dryden)
  • (obsolete) To fill with lies.
  • * Shakespeare
  • The breath of slander doth belie all corners of the world.
    Synonyms
    * (to give a false representation) misrepresent * (to tell lies about) calumniate * (to contradict or show to be false) contradict, give lie to, give the lie to