Spelling.School · How to spell

How to spell belie

Belie is spelled B-E-L-I-E.

What it means: To contradict or represent falsely.

In a sentence: The mask could not belie her cheerful smile. ▶

The part people get wrong

Watch for the order of ie.

Same family: belies, belied, belying, contradict, misrepresent. If you can spell one, the shared part carries to the others.

Where it comes from: “Belie” comes from Old English “belēogan,” meaning ‘to deceive or lie around,’ and originally had a stronger sense of ‘to tell lies about.’ Over time, its meaning narrowed to our modern sense of ‘to give a false impression of’ or ‘to contradict.’

Try spelling it

You will hear the word and a sentence. Type it and press Enter. Then four more words from the same level, so you know where you stand.

Words like this

piece · valentine · ladies · lie · fried · tie · applied · cried

Everyone has words they always get wrong. Spelling.School finds yours, shows you exactly why you miss them, and uses spaced repetition until you spell them right every time. Five minutes a day. Try five words without signing up.