Meaning & use
liar
Last updated
UK/ˈlaɪə/
US/ˈlaɪər/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who says things that they know are not true, especially someone who does this often.
Grammar: Countable: a liar, many liars.
Patterns
- a liar about something
- call someone a liar
He was a liar, and nobody trusted his stories.
She called him a liar in front of the whole class.
Nobody likes a liar who cannot even keep his own story straight.
Word forms
| plural | liars |
|---|
Common combinations
- pathological liar
- The doctor said he was a pathological liar.
- call someone a liar
- Don't call me a liar unless you have proof.
- barefaced liar
- The barefaced liar looked us straight in the eye.
- born liar
- My cousin is a born liar and tells wild tales.
- compulsive liar
- A compulsive liar may lie for no reason.
Synonyms and how they differ
- fibber
- Fibber is an informal, gentler word for someone who tells small lies, and liar is harsher.
- deceiver
- Deceiver sounds more formal or literary and stresses tricking people, and liar focuses on false statements.
- fraud
- Fraud means someone who pretends to be something they are not, not simply someone who lies.
- perjurer
- Perjurer is specific to someone who lies under oath in court.
Opposites
truth-teller
Word family
- lie noun
- a false statement made on purpose
- lie verb
- to say something false deliberately
- lying noun
- the act of telling lies
- untruthful adjective
- not honest
Commonly confused: liar or lair?
liar vs lair
A lair is the den of a wild animal, while a liar is someone who tells lies; they sound similar.
Practice
Once he was caught making up the story, everyone saw him as a ____ and stopped believing him.
Choose one answer.
A liar says things that are not true on purpose. A hero or lawyer would not explain why nobody believed him.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “liar”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.
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