Editing Lie (section)

{{Short description|Intentionally false statement made to deceive}}
{{redirect-multi|3|Lying|Liar|White lie|other uses|Lie (disambiguation)|and|Lying (disambiguation)|and|Liar (disambiguation)|and| White lie (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|Fibbing|the song|Fibbin'}}
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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
{{merge from|Noble lie|discuss=Talk:Lie#Merge proposal|date=February 2025}}
[[File:Pinocchio.jpg|thumb|The fictional character [[Pinocchio]] is a common depiction of a liar.]]
A '''lie''' is an assertion that is believed to be false, typically used with the purpose of [[deception|deceiving]]  or misleading someone.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Lying and deception : theory and practice|author=Carson, Thomas L.|date=2012|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0199654802|oclc=769544997}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mahon|first=James Edwin|date=21 February 2008|title=The Definition of Lying and Deception|url=https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/lying-definition/|journal=Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy|access-date=29 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318065300/https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2016/entries/lying-definition/|archive-date=18 March 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Mahon|first=James Edwin|date=2008|title=Two Definitions of Lying|journal=International Journal of Applied Philosophy|volume=22|issue=2|pages=211–230|doi=10.5840/ijap200822216|issn=0739-098X}}</ref> The practice of communicating lies is called '''lying'''. A person who communicates a lie may be termed a '''liar'''. Lies can be interpreted as deliberately false statements or misleading statements, though not all [[figurative language|statements that are literally false]] are considered lies – [[metaphors]], [[hyperboles]], and other figurative rhetoric are not intended to mislead, while lies are explicitly meant for literal interpretation by their audience. Lies may also serve a variety of instrumental, interpersonal, or psychological functions for the individuals who use them.<ref>Ekman, P. (2009). Telling lies: Clues to deceit in the marketplace, politics, and marriage (revised edition). WW Norton & Company.</ref>

Generally, the term "lie" carries a negative connotation, and depending on the context a person who communicates a lie may be subject to social, legal, religious, or criminal sanctions; for instance, [[perjury]], or the act of lying [[under oath]], can result in criminal and civil charges being pressed against the perjurer.

Although people in many cultures believe that deception can be detected by observing nonverbal behaviors (e.g. not making eye contact, fidgeting, stuttering, smiling) research indicates that people overestimate both the significance of such cues and their ability to make accurate judgements about deception.<ref name="Vrij" /><ref name="Zimmerman" /> More generally, people's ability to make true judgments is affected by biases towards accepting incoming information and interpreting feelings as evidence of [[truth]]. People do not always check incoming assertions against their memory.<ref name="Brashier">{{cite journal |last1=Brashier |first1=Nadia M. |last2=Marsh |first2=Elizabeth J. |title=Judging Truth |journal=Annual Review of Psychology |date=4 January 2020 |volume=71 |issue=1 |pages=499–515 |doi=10.1146/annurev-psych-010419-050807 |pmid=31514579 |s2cid=202569061 |issn=0066-4308|doi-access=free }}</ref>