# Looking for words or terms for "lying without lying". **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 18, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367 "2012-11-18T02:10:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Blunt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Blunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blunt)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/1 "2012-11-18T02:10:03Z")
I’m looking for words to describe someone who says things or tells stories in a way meant to intentionally create a false impression or imply things that are untrue, but which aren’t outright lies. Basically, saying things that in and of themselves are true, but wording them in a way, or excluding/including or arranging details to make them point to something that is false. For example: Someone has only been to Paris once in their life, but wants to create the impression they have been there frequently. They say something along the lines of “The _last_ time I was in Paris I had a wonderful time”, which I think implies they’d been there more than once, but if you were to call them on it there’s nothing factually untrue about it. Words like embellishing or exaggerating, or a term like “a white lie” come to mind as being close to what I’m trying to describe, but they’re not exactly what I’m looking for. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/2 "2012-11-18T02:11:41Z")
Misleading? ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/3 "2012-11-18T02:16:47Z")
Elaborating on the truth in order to tell a better story. Or, more simply, exaggerating. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/4 "2012-11-18T02:23:05Z")
Prevaricating? ---
**Author:** ![Chief\_Pedant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a6a055/32.png) [@Chief\_Pedant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chief_Pedant)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/5 "2012-11-18T02:35:46Z")
I like “disingenuous,” because the lack of candor leads to a false impression even though the exact wording might have been technically correct. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/6 "2012-11-18T03:31:37Z")
I agree with TokyoBayer. I think misleading is the closest term for what the OP is described. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/7 "2012-11-18T03:39:12Z")
Lie by omission? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/8 "2012-11-18T03:59:31Z")
Inflating could be used for the Paris case. Misdirecting and deceptive also. ETA: Gilding the lily, polishing a turd. ---
**Author:** ![chacoguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@chacoguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chacoguy)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/9 "2012-11-18T04:01:24Z")
Spin. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/10 "2012-11-18T06:01:05Z")
Sounds like “lying by omission” to me, but that’s not one word. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/11 "2012-11-18T07:09:16Z")
I would use dissemble to express the sense that you intend. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/12 "2012-11-18T07:49:59Z")
Anecdote alert: I had a friend who would boast, “I was in a band and on MTV.” He didn’t tell people that those two things were not concurrent. He was in a band in college. After college, he was no longer in a band. Then, he appeared on an MTV dating show and was one of a large pool of guys eliminated in about 2 minutes flat. You can barely see him walking off stage if you pause the video just right and he points it out to you. It made an impression when he would throw it around to drunk girls in bars. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/13 "2012-11-18T08:02:36Z")
I heard that in the expression “my kneecap was shattered during 'Nam” (in 1969 he was skiing in Colorado). I like disingenuous. ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/14 "2012-11-18T08:21:40Z")
Obfuscation? ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 8:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/15 "2012-11-18T08:27:21Z")
Economical with the truth? ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 12:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/16 "2012-11-18T12:42:43Z")
White lie, social lie, exaggeration, joke, kidding, tall tale, simplification, fiction, fib, mistake. ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_Door](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/17 "2012-11-18T12:56:54Z")
I use the term equivocation to describe that practice. ---
**Author:** ![Donnerwetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Donnerwetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Donnerwetter)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 12:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/18 "2012-11-18T12:59:16Z")
> [@Blunt](#): > > I’m looking for words to describe someone who says things or tells stories in a way meant to intentionally create a false impression or imply things that are untrue, but which aren’t outright lies. Basically, saying things that in and of themselves are true, but wording them in a way, or excluding/including or arranging details to make them point to something that is false. That is the very definition of what politicians do. ---
**Author:** ![CoastalMaineiac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e8c25b/32.png) [@CoastalMaineiac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CoastalMaineiac)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/19 "2012-11-18T13:08:37Z")
Bending (or stretching) the truth ---
**Author:** ![Zabali\_Clawbane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/ecd19e/32.png) [@Zabali\_Clawbane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zabali_Clawbane)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2012, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367/20 "2012-11-18T13:42:33Z")
> [@hrhomer](#): > > Prevaricating? Or obfuscate? Disinformation could also apply. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/looking-for-words-or-terms-for-lying-without-lying/641367.md?page=2)