mendacious

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The Word of the Day for July 19 is:

mendacious   \men-DAY-shus\   adjective
     : given to or characterized by deception or falsehood or 
divergence from absolute truth

Example sentence: 
     "Mildred had ... given her an elaborate but mendacious 
account of the circumstances which had brought her to the pass 
she was in." (W. S. Maugham,  _Of Human Bondage_)       

Did you know? 
         "Mendacious" and "lying" have very similar meanings, 
but the two are not interchangeable. "Mendacious" is more formal 
and literary, suggesting a deception harmless enough to be 
considered bland. "Lying" is more blunt, accusatory, and often 
confrontational. You might yell, "You lying rat!" in an 
argument, but you would most likely stick to the more 
diplomatic, "Aren't you being somewhat mendacious?" in a 
business meeting. "Mendacious" can also imply habitual 
untruthfulness, whereas "lying" is more likely to be used to 
identify specific incidences of dishonesty.