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Belie vs Debunk - What's the difference?

belie | debunk |

In transitive terms the difference between belie and debunk

is that belie is to contradict, to show (something) to be false while debunk is to discredit, or expose to ridicule the falsehood or the exaggerated claims of something.

As verbs the difference between belie and debunk

is that belie is to lie around; encompass while debunk is to discredit, or expose to ridicule the falsehood or the exaggerated claims of something.

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

    debunk

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To discredit, or expose to ridicule the falsehood or the exaggerated claims of something
    • Sailing round the world debunked the theory that the earth was flat.
    Debunking the myth of the American West.
    That bullshit has already been debunked .
    A myth that has long been debunked .
    The explosion story was thoroughly debunked on National Public Radio in November 1999.

    Anagrams

    * English transitive verbs