bending the truth
Not quite lying
Bending the truth is distorting facts without outright lying—shading, omitting, or exaggerating to create a misleading impression while maintaining technical accuracy.
He wasn't exactly lying, just bending the truth a little.
The phrase implies deliberate manipulation rather than innocent error, but suggests something less serious than fabrication.
- fibTrivial, harmless falsehood
- telling talesRevealing others' wrongdoings
- little white lieMinor harmless falsehood
- exaggerateOverstate beyond truth
- lieDeliberate falsehood
bald-faced lie · misrepresent · twist · selective memory · mask · cover story · equivocation · falsehood · omission · glossing over · distort · white lie · dodge · fabricate · creative accounting · artifice · tall tale · prevaricate
bending the truthtelling the truth
being honest · honesty · candor · telling it like it is · full disclosure
bending the truthfabricating
Manufacturing falsely
lying through one's teeth · inventing · perjury · pathological lying
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