Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MENDACIOUS

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connect today's word to others: A few years ago I shared with you this quote, from Samuel Johnson, that I'd like to look at again: "It is more from carelessness about truth than from intentional lying, that there is so much falsehood in the world." What a lovely thought. Would you agree that we should more readily assume carelessness than flat-out deception when we hear someone lie? I would. But today we're not looking at a word for those of us who are forgetful about facts or careless with the truth; we're looking at the word mendacious, which describes liars, dirty liars, flat-out liars, and lie-straight-to-your-face liars. Intentional lying is mendacious, are so are intentional liars. You're likely to have the misfortune of knowing at least one mendacious person. Would you go so far as to describe that person as M________ian: willing and able to lie, steal, cheat, or do anything necessary to get what they want? And when that person starts rattling off another mendacious story, do you roll your eyes and scoff in______ously: in a way that reveals you don't believe a word they're saying? (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "MENDACIOUS" This word comes from the Latin mendacium, meaning "a lie," which is based on menda, meaning "a fault, a defect, or a blemish." That explains why our word looks like the words "amend" and "mend." A mendacious person is often lying, on purpose. And a mendacious thing is false or untrue in a purposefully misleading way. Pronunciation: men DAY shuss Part of speech: Adjective. (Adjectives are describing words, like "large" or "late." They can be used in two ways: 1. Right before a noun, as in "a mendacious thing" or "a mendacious person." 2. After a linking verb, as in "It was mendacious" or "He was mendacious.") Other forms: mendaciously, mendaciousness/mendacity ("men DASS ih dee") How to use it: "Mendacious" helps you specify that you're talking about lying on purpose, often for a mean or self-serving reason. "Mendacious" does not describe accidental lies, white lies, poor recall, confusion, or any other reason people may have for saying something untrue. Keep in mind that this word is sharply critical. Calling people mendacious means you're assuming their intentions: you're saying that they're lying on purpose. So, if you must, talk about mendacious people and their mendacious claims, statements, stories, speeches, explanations, propaganda, and so on. examples: Leading up to the checkout lane is a magazine trough filled with the usual mendacious slop about which star is desperate to regain the affections of which other star. As a nation, the people are doing their best to call attention to their administration's corruption and mendacity. study it now: Look away from the screen to explain the definition in your own words. You’ll know you understand what "mendacious" means when you can explain it without saying "lying intentionally" or "misleading people on purpose." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "(A certain book, speech, website, advertisement, etc.) is riddled with mendacious claims, like '_____.'" Example: "Her posts about the products she sells are riddled with mendacious claims, like 'Reverses ten signs of aging instantly.'" before you review: Spend at least 20 seconds occupying your mind with the game below. Then try the review questions. Don’t go straight to the review now—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is "A Vocabulary of Movie Quotes." Jean Picker Firstenberg at the American Film Institute (AFI) says, "Great movie quotes become part of our cultural vocabulary." I believe it! I bet you can recall, verbatim, any of the AFI's "100 Greatest Movie Quotes of All Time" if all I give you is a single word from the quote. For example, if I give you the word KANSAS, I bet you can recite this: "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore," from The Wizard of Oz (1939). I'll share each answer in the following issue. And we’ll work our way forward in time, starting with the oldest movies. Let’s play! From the previous issue: From a 1996 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word HELLO? Answer: From Jerry Maguire: "You had me at 'hello.'" Try this today: From a 1997 film, what's the famous quote that includes the word KING? review today's word: 1. The opposite of MENDACIOUS is A. PALLID B. TOOTHLESS C. VERACIOUS 2. They came up with a mendacious rationale: that _____. A. because we believe in dinosaurs, dinosaurs must believe in us B. it would be better to make corrections later than to delay publication indefinitely C. to provide basic accommodations to special-needs students would unfairly burden everyone Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. C 2. C