liar

English

English Wikipedia has an article on:

liar

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• lyar (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English lier, liere, lyere, liȝer, lieȝer, legher, from Old English lēgere, lēogere (“liar, false witness, hypocrite”), from Proto-West Germanic *leugārī, from Proto-Germanic *leugārijaz (“liar”), from *leuganą (“to lie”) +‎ *-ārijaz, equivalent to lie +‎ -ar. More at lie.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪ.ə/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˈlaɪ.ɚ/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Homophones: lyre, lier
• Hyphenation: li‧ar
• Rhymes: -aɪ.ə(ɹ)

Noun

liar (plural liars)

1. A person who frequently lies; someone who tells a lie.
   • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 15, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:

     She paused and took a defiant breath. ‘If you don't believe me, I can't help it. But I'm not a liar.’ ¶ ‘No,’ said Luke, grinning at her. ‘You're not dull enough! […] What about the kid's clothes? I don't suppose they were anything to write home about, but didn't you keep anything? […]’

2. (nautical, obsolete) A swabber responsible for cleaning the outside parts of the ship rather than the cabins, a role traditionally assigned to a person caught telling a lie the previous week.
   • 1703, Sir William Monson, Sir William Monson's Naval Tracts in Six Books, page 348:

     The Swabber is to keep the Cabbins, and all the Rooms of the Ship clean within board, and the Liar to do the like without board. The Liar holds his Place but for a week; and he that is first taken with a Lie upon a Monday morning, […] for that week he is under the Swabber, and meddles not with making clean the Ship within board, but without.

   • 2005, Caleb H. Johnson, The Mayflower and Her Passengers, page 35:

     The swabber, perhaps the lowliest position on the ship, was responsible for cleaning the decks. By tradition, each Monday a new crewmember was appointed the liar—the first person caught telling a lie the previous week.

Synonyms

• bluffer
• bullshitter
• contradictor
• deceiver
• fabricator
• fabulist
• falsifier
• fibber
• goofer
• gossiper
• nonsenser
• red flagger
• storyteller
• tall tale teller

Derived terms

• barefaced liar
• Bliar
• liar dice
• liar liar pants on fire
• liar loan
• liar paradox
• liar's dividend
• nonliar
• pathological liar
• the devil is a liar

Translations

one who tells lies

Abkhaz: амцҳәаҩ (amcḥʷajʷ) Albanian: gënjeshtar (sq) m Arabic: كَذَّاب m (kaḏḏāb), كَذَّابَة f (kaḏḏāba), كَاذِب m (kāḏib), كَاذِبَة f (kāḏiba), كَذُوب m (kaḏūb), كَذُوبَة f (kaḏūba) Egyptian Arabic: كداب m (kaddāb) Gulf Arabic: چَذَّاب Hijazi Arabic: كَذَّاب m (kaddāb), نَصَّاب m (naṣṣāb), بَكَّاش m (bakkāš) Levantine Arabic: كَزَّاب m (kazzāb) Aramaic: Classical Syriac: ܟܕܒܐ m (kaddāḇā), ܟܕܒܬܐ f (kaddāḇtā), ܕܓܠܐ m (daggālā), ܕܓܠܬܐ f (daggāltā) Armenian: ստախոս (hy) (staxos), սուտասան (hy) (sutasan), խաբեբա (hy) (xabeba) Aromanian: minciunos m, minciunoasã f Azerbaijani: yalançı (az) Bashkir: алдаҡсы (aldaqsı) Basque: gezur (eu) Belarusian: ілгу́н m (ilhún), ілгу́нья f (ilhúnʹja), браху́н m (braxún), браху́ха f (braxúxa), хлус m (xlus), хлусе́лька f (xlusjélʹka), враль m (vralʹ) Bengali: মিথ্যাবাদী (bn) (mitthabadi), বেইমান (bn) (beiman), কাজেব (kajeb) Bhojpuri: झूठा (jhūṭhā) Bikol Central: Bikol Legazpi: utikon Bulgarian: лъже́ц (bg) m (lǎžéc), лъжки́ня f (lǎžkínja), лъ́жльо (bg) m (lǎ́žljo) Catalan: mentider (ca) m, mentidera (ca) f Cebuano: bakakon Cherokee: ᎦᏰᎪᎩ (gayegogi) Chinese: Cantonese: 大話精 / 大话精 (daai6 waa6 zing1) Mandarin: 說謊者 / 说谎者 (shuōhuǎngzhě) Cornish: gowek m, gowoges f Czech: lhář (cs) m, lhářka (cs) f Dalmatian: boscurd m Danish: løgner (da) c Dutch: leugenaar (nl) m, leugenaarster (nl) f Esperanto: mensogulo, mensogulino (female) Estonian: valetaja (et), valevorst Even: өлэк (ölək) Ewe: aʋatsokala Finnish: valehtelija (fi) French: menteur (fr) m, menteuse (fr) f Galician: mentirán (gl) m, mentirana f, mentireiro (gl) m, mentireira f, troleiro (gl) m, troleira f Georgian: მატყუარა (maṭq̇uara) German: Lügner (de) m, Lügnerin (de) f Gothic: 𐌻𐌹𐌿𐌲𐌽𐌾𐌰 m (liugnja) Greek: ψεύτης (el) m (pséftis), ψεύτρα (el) f (pséftra) Ancient: ψεύστης m (pseústēs) Hawaiian: wahaheʻe Hebrew: שקרן / שַׁקְרָן m (shakrán), שקרנית \ שַׁקְרָנִית f (shakranít) Hindi: झूठा (hi) m (jhūṭhā) Hungarian: hazug (hu) Icelandic: lygari (is) m Indonesian: pembohong (id) Ingrian: pettelikko Irish: bréagadóir m, bréagach m, scaitseálaí m, éitheoir m Italian: bugiardo (it) m, bugiarda (it) f, mentitore (it) m, mentitrice f Jamaican Creole: liyad Japanese: 嘘つき (ja) (うそつき, usotsuki) Kashubian: łgôrz m, łgôrka f, łżél m Kazakh: жалғаншы (jalğanşy), кәззап (käzzap), өтірікші (ötırıkşı) Khmer: កំភរ (km) (kɑmphɔɔ), មនុស្សកុហក (mɔnuh kohɑk), មនុស្សភរ (mɔnuh phɔɔ), អ្នកភរ (nĕək phɔɔ) Kikuyu: mũheenania class 1 Korean: 거짓말쟁이 (ko) (geojinmaljaeng'i) Kurdish: Central Kurdish: درۆزن (ckb) (drozn) Kyrgyz: калпычы (ky) (kalpıcı), жалганчы (ky) (jalgancı) Ladino: Latin: mintirozo m, mintiroza f Lao: ຄົນຂີ້ຕົວະ (khon khī to wa), ຄົນຕົວະ (khon to wa), ຄົນໂກຫົກ (khon kō hok), ຂີ້ຕົວະ (khī to wa), ຂີ້ລ່າຽ (khī lāi) Latin: mendax (la) m or f, falsus m Latvian: melis m, mele f Lithuanian: melagis (lt) m, melagė f Macedonian: лажго m (lažgo), лажга m (lažga), лажливец m (lažlivec), лажливка f (lažlivka), лажач m (lažač), лажачка f (lažačka) Malay: penipu, pembohong Maltese: giddieb m Manx: breagerey m, breageyder m Maori: rūkahu, rūpahu, arero horihori, arero hīanga, arero teka Middle English: lier, losengeour Mongolian: Cyrillic: худалч хүн (xudalč xün) Navajo: biyoochʼídí Ngazidja Comorian: mndru wa ndrabo class 1/2 Norman: mensongi m, menteux m Norwegian: Bokmål: løgner m, løgnhals m Nynorsk: lygnar m, løgnar m, lygnhals m, løgnhals m Old French: menteor m Ottoman Turkish: یالانجی (yalancı) Persian: دروغگو (fa) (doruġgu), دروزن (fa) (doruzan) (classic) Plautdietsch: Läajna m Polabian: låzaikă m Polish: kłamca (pl) m, łgarz (pl) m, kłamczuch (pl) m (colloquial), kłamczucha (pl) f, łeż (pl) m (obsolete) Old Polish: fałesznik, fałszerz, lhacz, łeż, łgarz, matacz Portuguese: mentiroso (pt) m, mentirosa (pt) f Romanian: mincinos (ro) m, mincinoasă f Russian: лгун (ru) m (lgun), лгу́нья (ru) f (lgúnʹja), лжец (ru) m (lžec), врун (ru) m (vrun), вру́нья (ru) f (vrúnʹja), обма́нщик (ru) m (obmánščik), обма́нщица (ru) f (obmánščica), вруни́шка (ru) m or f (vruníška) (mild), враль (ru) m (vralʹ), бреху́н (ru) m (brexún), бреху́нья (ru) f (brexúnʹja) (colloquial), брехло́ (ru) n (brexló) (colloquial), трепло́ (ru) n (trepló) (colloquial), пиздабо́л (ru) m (pizdaból) (vulgar), пиздаплёт m (pizdapljót) (vulgar), пизду́н (ru) m (pizdún) (vulgar), пизду́нья f (pizdúnʹja) (vulgar) Scottish Gaelic: breugaire m, breugadair m, breugaiche m Serbo-Croatian: Cyrillic: ла̀жов m, ла̀жљивац m, ла̀жљивица m Roman: làžov (sh) m, làžljivac (sh) m, làžljivica (sh) f Sicilian: mbrugghiuni (scn) m, trastularu m Silesian: cygōn m, szulyrz m, wichłŏcz m Slovak: klamár m, klamárka f, luhár m Slovene: lažnívec (sl) m, lažnivka f Southern Altai: јалганчак (ǰalgančak), јалганчы (ǰalgančï) Spanish: mentiroso (es) m, mentirosa (es) f, embustero (es) m, embustera (es) f Swahili: mwongo (sw) Swedish: lögnare (sv) c Tagalog: sinungaling, echosera, charotera Tajik: дурӯғгӯй (durüġgüy), каззоб (kazzob) Tatar: ялганчы (tt) (yalgançı) Telugu: అబద్ధాలకోరు (te) (abaddhālakōru) Thai: ผู้มุสา (pûu-mú-sǎa), คนโกหก (kon-goo-hòk), คนพูดปด (kon-pûut-bpòt), คนพูดเท็จ (kon-pûut-tét) Tibetan: ཀྱག་རྗུན་ཤོད་མཁན (kyag rjun shod mkhan) Turkish: yalancı (tr) Turkmen: ýalançy, aldawçy (tk) Ukrainian: бреху́н (uk) m (brexún), бреху́ха (uk) f (brexúxa), бреху́нка (uk) f (brexúnka), брехло́ n (brexló) (colloquial) Urdu: جھوٹھا m (jhūṭhā) Uyghur: يالغانچى (yalghanchi) Uzbek: yolgʻonchi (uz) Vietnamese: kẻ nói dối (vi), kẻ nói láo (vi), kẻ nói điêu (vi) Volapük: lugan (vo), hilugan (male), jilugan (female) Welsh: celwyddgi (cy) Yiddish: ליגנער m (ligner), שקרן m (shakren), כּזבֿן (kazvn), דובֿר־שקרים m (doyver-shkorim), ליגנערין f (lignerin), ליגנערקע f (lignerke), שקרנטע f (shákrente), כּזבֿנטע f (kázvnte)

Anagrams

• Lair, aril, lair, lari, lira, rail, rial

Indonesian

Etymology

Inherited from Malay liar.

Pronunciation

• (Standard Indonesian) IPA^(key): /ˈliar/ [ˈli.ar]
• Rhymes: -ar
• Syllabification: li‧ar

Adjective

liar (comparative lebih liar, superlative paling liar)

1. wild, untamed, undomesticated
2. uncivilized, uncultured, primitive, barbaric, savage, wild
3. illegal, unlawful, outlawed, unauthorized
4. shy (of fish, etc.)
5. irregular

Derived terms

• keliaran
• liaran
• meliar
• terliar

Further reading

• “liar” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Portuguese

Etymology

Possibly borrowed from Old French lier, from Latin ligāre. Doublet of ligar and legar.

Pronunciation

 

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /liˈa(ʁ)/ [lɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /ˈlja(ʁ)/ [ˈlja(h)]

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /liˈa(ʁ)/ [lɪˈa(h)], (faster pronunciation) /ˈlja(ʁ)/ [ˈlja(h)]
  • (São Paulo) IPA^(key): /liˈa(ɾ)/ [lɪˈa(ɾ)], (faster pronunciation) /ˈlja(ɾ)/
  • (Rio de Janeiro) IPA^(key): /liˈa(ʁ)/ [lɪˈa(χ)], (faster pronunciation) /ˈlja(ʁ)/ [ˈlja(χ)]
  • (Porto Alegre) IPA^(key): /liˈa(ɻ)/ [lɪˈa(ɻ)], (faster pronunciation) /ˈlja(ɻ)/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈljaɾ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈljaɾ/
  • (Southern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈlja.ɾi/

• Hyphenation: li‧ar

Verb

liar (first-person singular present lio, first-person singular preterite liei, past participle liado) (transitive)

1. to tie

   Synonyms: atar, amarrar

2. to connect, to link

   Synonym: ligar

Conjugation

    Conjugation of liar (See Appendix:Portuguese verbs)

	Singular			Plural
	First-person (eu)	Second-person (tu)	Third-person (ele / ela / você)	First-person (nós)	Second-person (vós)	Third-person (eles / elas / vocês)
Infinitive
Impersonal	liar
Personal	liar	liares	liar	liarmos	liardes	liarem
Gerund
	liando
Past participle
Masculine	liado			liados
Feminine	liada			liadas
Indicative
Present	lio	lias	lia	liamos	liais	liam
Imperfect	liava	liavas	liava	liávamos	liáveis	liavam
Preterite	liei	liaste	liou	liamos1, liámos2	liastes	liaram
Pluperfect	liara	liaras	liara	liáramos	liáreis	liaram
Future	liarei	liarás	liará	liaremos	liareis	liarão
Conditional	liaria	liarias	liaria	liaríamos	liaríeis	liariam
Subjunctive
Present	lie	lies	lie	liemos	lieis	liem
Imperfect	liasse	liasses	liasse	liássemos	liásseis	liassem
Future	liar	liares	liar	liarmos	liardes	liarem
Imperative
Affirmative		lia	lie	liemos	liai	liem
Negative (não)		não lies	não lie	não liemos	não lieis	não liem

¹Brazilian Portuguese.
²European Portuguese.

Derived terms

• liação