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Belie vs Subvert - What's the difference?

belie | subvert |

In lang=en terms the difference between belie and subvert

is that belie is to contradict, to show (something) to be false while subvert is to upturn convention from the foundation by undermining it (literally, to turn from beneath).

As verbs the difference between belie and subvert

is that belie is (obsolete) to lie around; encompass or belie can be to tell lies about; to slander while subvert is to overturn from the foundation; to overthrow; to ruin utterly.

As a noun subvert is

an advertisement created by subvertising.

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

    subvert

    English

    Etymology 1

    From (etyl) subverten, from (etyl) subvertir, from (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To overturn from the foundation; to overthrow; to ruin utterly.
  • * Shakespeare
  • He razeth your cities, and subverts your towns.
  • * John Locke
  • This would subvert the principles of all knowledge.
  • To pervert, as the mind, and turn it from the truth; to corrupt; to confound.
  • A dictator stays in power only as long as he manages to subvert the will of his people.
  • To upturn convention from the foundation by undermining it (literally, to turn from beneath).
  • Derived terms
    * subversion * subversive

    Etymology 2

    , by analogy with advert.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An advertisement created by subvertising.
  • Synonyms
    * subvertisement