Words for lying and liars
Words for deception in all its forms: a plain lie, clever trickery, a slippery answer, a secret kept, and a cheap fake.
cunning
KUHN-ing, adjective
Clever at getting what one wants, often by trickery.
“The raccoon made a cunning study of every latch on the bins.”
deceive
dih-SEEV, verb
To make someone believe something false.
“The calm surface deceived many swimmers about the current.”
clandestine
klan-DES-tin, adjective
Kept secret, often for illicit reasons.
“Their clandestine taco runs were the office’s worst-kept secret.”
apocryphal
uh-POK-ruh-fuhl, adjective
Of doubtful authenticity, although widely circulated as true.
“The story about the CEO’s garage prototype is almost certainly apocryphal.”
chicanery
shi-KAY-nuh-ree, noun
Trickery, especially legal or financial.
“The contract’s fine print bordered on chicanery.”
duplicity
doo-PLIS-ih-tee, noun
Deceitfulness; double-dealing.
“The leaked memo revealed a quiet duplicity in the pricing.”
Hapax puts one word like this on your Lock Screen every morning, with its pronunciation, definition and an example. No ads, no account, no subscription.
equivocate
ih-KWIV-uh-kayt, verb
To use vague language to avoid committing oneself.
“Asked for a delivery date, the vendor equivocated for a week.”
ersatz
ER-zahts, adjective
An inferior substitute; artificial.
“The hotel’s ersatz marble fooled nobody who leaned on it.”
mendacious
men-DAY-shuhs, adjective
Habitually lying.
“The memoir was entertaining, mendacious, and a bestseller.”
obfuscate
OB-fuh-skayt, verb
To deliberately make something unclear or difficult to understand.
“The report seemed designed to obfuscate rather than explain the losses.”
ostensible
ah-STEN-suh-bl, adjective
Stated as true, though perhaps not actually so.
“The ostensible reason was scheduling; the real one was budget.”
perfidious
per-FID-ee-uhs, adjective
Deceitful and untrustworthy; treacherous.
“The alliance ended with one perfidious midnight vote.”
casuistry
KAZH-oo-is-tree, noun
Clever but misleading moral reasoning.
“The policy defense was pure casuistry, elegant and hollow.”
legerdemain
lej-er-duh-MAYN, noun
Sleight of hand; skillful deception.
“The budget balanced only through accounting legerdemain.”
tergiversate
TUR-jih-ver-sayt, verb
To repeatedly change positions; to equivocate or desert a cause.
“Pressed for a launch date, the vendor tergiversated for a full quarter.”
Hapax puts one word like this on your Lock Screen every morning, with its pronunciation, definition and an example. No ads, no account, no subscription.
More word lists
Beautiful words Rare words Positive words to describe a person Negative words to describe a person Big words worth using Words for sad Words for light and dark Words for talking Fancy insults Words for tired and sleepy Word origins All 440 words