belie the truth

Meaning

To 'belie the truth' means to give a false impression of reality, to contradict, or to disguise the actual state of affairs. When someone's outward appearance, words, or actions 'belie the truth,' they hide or misrepresent what is actually happening underneath.

Examples

• His calm demeanor during the trial seemed to belie the truth of his inner panic.

  His calm demeanor during the trial seemed to belie the truth of his inner panic.

• The cheerful decorations in the shop belie the truth of its struggling financial situation.

  The cheerful decorations in the shop belie the truth of its struggling financial situation.

• Her polite smiles belie the truth of her deep resentment toward her coworkers.

  Her polite smiles belie the truth of her deep resentment toward her coworkers.

• The glowing economic reports belie the truth of rising unemployment in rural areas.

  The glowing economic reports belie the truth of rising unemployment in rural areas.

• He tried to project confidence, but his trembling hands would always belie the truth.

  He tried to project confidence, but his trembling hands would always belie the truth.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ His smile belied to the truth of his sadness.

  ✓ His smile belied the truth of his sadness.

  'Belie' is a transitive verb and does not require the preposition 'to'. It directly takes an object.

• ✗ The facts believe the truth of his claims.

  ✓ The facts belie the truth of his claims.

  'Belie' (meaning to contradict/disguise) is often confused with 'believe' due to similar spelling and pronunciation, but they have completely different meanings.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Her confident voice seemed to ___ the truth of her extreme nervousness.

  💡 To contradict or disguise the reality of something.

  Show answer

  belie

• The polished exterior of the building belies the ___ of its crumbling infrastructure.

  💡 The opposite of falsehood.

  Show answer

  truth