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Lying vs Falsehood - What's the difference?

lying | falsehood |

As nouns the difference between lying and falsehood

is that lying is an act of telling a lie, or falsehood while falsehood is the property of being false.

As a verb lying

is present participle of lang=en.

lying

English

(wikipedia lying)

Verb

(head)
  • * 1811 , , Sense and Sensibility The Free Library , Chapter 19:
    • Without shutting herself up from her family ... or lying awake the whole night to indulge meditation, Elinor found every day afforded her leisure enough to think of Edward..

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An act of telling a lie, or falsehood.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • The act of one who lies, or keeps low to the ground.
  • * Saint Augustine, Expositions on the Book of Psalms
    • But whom could the lyings in wait of the human heart escape?

    falsehood

    English

    Noun

  • (uncountable) The property of being false.
  • * 1976 , Willard Van Orman Quine, The Ways of Paradox, and other essays , page 89:
    • Every such idiom is what is known as a truth function, and is characterized by the fact that the truth or falsehood' of the complex statement which it generates is uniquely determined by the truth or ' falsehood of the several statements which it combines.
  • (countable) A false statement, especially an intentional one; a lie
    • Don't tell falsehoods .
  • (archaic, rare) Mendacity, deceitfulness; the trait of a person who is mendacious and deceitful.
  • * 1817 , Robert Stevenson, Scripture Portraits , volume 1, page 155:
    • THE LEPROSY OF NAAMAN INFLICTED ON GEHAZI, FOR HIS FALSEHOOD AND COVETOUSNESS.
  • * 1963 , M. Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion: its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors , page 7:
    • O mortal, eschew falsehood' and flattery. Death flayeth and killeth the false one: The apostate suffereth for his ' falsehood and pride; he is tormented in both worlds. Renounce slander and envy of others.
  • * 1984 , Witness Lee, Life-Study: Revelation: Volume Three: Messages 34-50 , Living Stream Ministry (1999), ISBN 978-0-7363-0659-1, page 511:
    • The false prophet looks like a lamb, but speaks like a dragon. This indicates his falsehood . He will pretend to be the same as Christ.
  • *

    • Quotations

    * Syn. Falsehood'', ''Falseness'', ''Falsity''; untruth, fabrication, fiction. Instances may be quoted in abundance from old authors to show that the first three words are often strictly synonymous; but the modern tendency has been decidedly in favor of separating them, ''falsehood'' standing for the concrete thing, an intentional lie; ''falseness'', for the quality of being guiltily false or treacherous: as, he is justly despised for his ''falseness'' to his oath; and ''falsity'', for the quality of being false without blame: as, the ''falsity'' of reasoning. — the ''Century Dictionary , 1911. * Micah 2:11 (KJV): *: If a man walking in the spirit and falsehood do lie, saying, I will prophesy unto thee of wine and of strong drink; he shall even be the prophet of this people. * 1909 , John Potts, Secret Lodge System : *: The lodge upheld, sustained and honored this man in his double life, his deceit, his falsehood , his hypocrisy.

    Synonyms

    * (property of being false) falsity * (false statement) lie * (deceitfulness) falseness, mendacity * See also

    Antonyms

    * (false statement) truth, verity