mendacious
Adjective
Hard difficulty
What does “mendacious” mean?
adjective.not telling the truth; lying.
SAT Usage
this term often appears in passages discussing themes of trust, deception, or morality, typically in contexts involving characters or situations that undermine honesty. It emphasizes a deliberate and habitual tendency to lie, distinguishing it from similar words like "deceitful," which can imply a broader range of misleading behavior without necessarily emphasizing a tendency towards falsehood.
Common Confusions
Mendacious implies a habitual tendency to lie, while deceitful usually suggests a broader range of misleading behavior that may not always involve outright falsehoods.
Do not choose mendacious if the context emphasizes honesty or truthfulness rather than not telling the truth; lying.
Example Sentences
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The mendacious salesman misrepresented every feature of the car.