Library / English Dictionary

LIE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: lain    , lay    , lying   

 I. (noun) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

A statement that deviates from or perverts the truth

Synonyms:

lie; prevarication

Classified under:

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents

Hypernyms ("lie" is a kind of...):

falsehood; falsity; untruth (a false statement)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "lie"):

fib; story; tale; taradiddle; tarradiddle (a trivial lie)

jactitation ((law) a false boast that can harm others; especially a false claim to be married to someone (formerly actionable at law))

walloper; whopper (a gross untruth; a blatant lie)

white lie (an unimportant lie (especially one told to be tactful or polite))

Derivation:

lie (tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Position or manner in which something is situated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting spatial position

Hypernyms ("lie" is a kind of...):

place; position (the particular portion of space occupied by something)

Derivation:

lie (be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position)

lie (originate (in))

lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)

lie (have a place in relation to something else)

lie (be and remain in a particular state or condition)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Norwegian diplomat who was the first Secretary General of the United Nations (1896-1968)

Synonyms:

Lie; Trygve Halvden Lie; Trygve Lie

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Instance hypernyms:

diplomat; diplomatist (an official engaged in international negotiations)

 II. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tell an untruth; pretend with intent to deceive

Example:

She lied when she told me she was only 29

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Hypernyms (to "lie" is one way to...):

misinform; mislead (give false or misleading information to)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lie"):

romance (tell romantic or exaggerated lies)

perjure (knowingly tell an untruth in a legal court and render oneself guilty of perjury)

fib (tell a relatively insignificant lie)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s to somebody

Derivation:

liar (a person who has lied or who lies repeatedly)

lie (a statement that deviates from or perverts the truth)

lying (the deliberate act of deviating from the truth)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position

Example:

the books are lying on the shelf

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

"Lie" entails doing...:

lie; lie down (assume a reclining position)

Verb group:

lie; lie down (assume a reclining position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lie"):

bask (be exposed)

repose (lie when dead)

lie awake (lie without sleeping)

overlie (lie upon; lie on top of)

recline; recumb; repose (lean in a comfortable resting position)

sprawl (sit or lie with one's limbs spread out)

sun; sunbathe (expose one's body to the sun)

Sentence frames:

Something is ----ing PP
Somebody ----s PP

Antonym:

sit (be seated)

stand (be standing; be upright)

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Assume a reclining position

Example:

lie down on the bed until you feel better

Synonyms:

lie; lie down

Classified under:

Verbs of walking, flying, swimming

Hypernyms (to "lie" is one way to...):

change posture (undergo a change in bodily posture)

Verb group:

lie (be lying, be prostrate; be in a horizontal position)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lie"):

stretch; stretch out (lie down comfortably)

charge (lie down on command, of hunting dogs)

bow down; prostrate (get into a prostrate position, as in submission)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s PP

Sense 4

Meaning:

Originate (in)

Example:

The problems dwell in the social injustices in this country

Synonyms:

consist; dwell; lie; lie in

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "lie" is one way to...):

be; exist (have an existence, be extant)

Sentence frame:

Something is ----ing PP

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 5

Meaning:

Be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "lie" is one way to...):

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Verb group:

lie; rest (have a place in relation to something else)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "lie"):

look across; look out on; look out over; overlook (be oriented in a certain direction)

orient; point (be oriented)

line; run along (be in line with; form a line along)

command; dominate; overlook; overtop (look down on)

head (be in the front of or on top of)

flank (be located at the sides of something or somebody)

back (be in back of)

face; front; look (be oriented in a certain direction, often with respect to another reference point; be opposite to)

cap; crest (lie at the top of)

underlie (lie underneath)

precede; predate (come before)

slant (lie obliquely)

focalise; focalize; localise; localize (concentrate on a particular place or spot)

lap (lie partly over or alongside of something or of one another)

ride (lie moored or anchored)

mediate (occupy an intermediate or middle position or form a connecting link or stage between two others)

top (be at the top of or constitute the top or highest point)

intervene (be placed or located between other things or extend between spaces and events)

nestle (lie in a sheltered position)

Sentence frames:

Something ----s
Something is ----ing PP

Sentence examples:

The children lie in the rocking chair

There lie some children in the rocking chair

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 6

Meaning:

Have a place in relation to something else

Example:

The responsibility rests with the Allies

Synonyms:

lie; rest

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "lie" is one way to...):

be (occupy a certain position or area; be somewhere)

Verb group:

lie (be located or situated somewhere; occupy a certain position)

Sentence frame:

Something ----s something

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Sense 7

Meaning:

Be and remain in a particular state or condition

Example:

lie dormant

Classified under:

Verbs of being, having, spatial relations

Hypernyms (to "lie" is one way to...):

be (have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun))

Sentence frames:

Something ----s Adjective/Noun
Somebody ----s Adjective

Derivation:

lie (position or manner in which something is situated)

Credits

 Context examples: 

A thin, broad, quadrilateral muscle that lies within the interval between the jaw (maxilla and mandible) on the side of the face.

(Buccinator, NCI Thesaurus)

A blood vessel-containing membrane of the eye that lies between the retina and the sclera.

(Choroid, NCI Thesaurus)

During a CT scan, you lie still on a table.

(CT Scans, NIH: National Cancer Institute)

Many people feel lightheaded if they get up too quickly from sitting or lying down.

(Dizziness and Vertigo, NIH)

You never know where your luck will lie—buy just a few.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

At that moment Dorothy saw lying on the table the silver shoes that had belonged to the Witch of the East.

(The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum)

A indication that electrocardiogram test data lies within specified parameters.

(Electrocardiogram Reference Range Indicator, NCI Thesaurus)

The ears lay flat to the head.

(English Foxhound, NCI Thesaurus)

If he had had the energy, he would have refused to consider the lie, because he wanted to forget.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

Nodes that lie along the course of a lymphatic vessel between a primary melanoma site and a recognized node field.

(Murine Interval Lymph Node, NCI Thesaurus)