Given to or characterized by deception or lying; dishonest and untruthful. It describes someone who habitually lies or something that contains falsehoods.
From Latin mendax (lying, false) + the suffix -ious (characterized by). The root mendax comes from mendum (fault, error). The word entered English in the 17th century, maintaining its strong association with deliberate deception and habitual lying.
Think 'MEN-DAY-SHUS' and remember it sounds like 'audacious' - someone mendacious is audaciously lying! The 'mend' part might make you think of 'mending' or fixing, but it's actually about breaking the truth. A mendacious person needs to 'mend' their relationship with honesty.
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