mythomaniac
Pathological fiction teller
A mythomaniac is someone with a compulsive tendency to lie or exaggerate, often elaborately and without clear external motive.
The term carries clinical overtones, suggesting the lying is pathological rather than merely strategic: His stories about his military service marked him as a mythomaniac.
The condition itself is mythomania.
Relating to disease processes
- liarOne who speaks falsely
- compulsiveUnable to stop oneself
- lyingStating known falsehoods
- confabulationInvented memories believed true
delusion · psychiatric · disorder · narcissism · histrionic · personality · grandiosity · egocentrism
Persistent, intrusive preoccupation
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- monomaniaFixation on single idea
- megalomaniacOne with grandiose self-image
- egomaniacOne obsessed with themselves
pyromaniac · kleptomaniac · dipsomaniac · fixation · addiction · pathological · irresistible · uncontrollable
One who tricks others
- fabricatorCreator of lies
- falsifierOne who distorts truth
- prevaricatorOne who deceives verbally
- impostorOne feigning another's identity
charlatan · hoaxer · fraudster · dissembler · con-artist · pretender · phony · swindler
Deliberate falsehood
- falsehoodDeliberate untrue statement
- untruthA false statement
- tall-taleOutlandish fictional narrative
- inventionNew device or method
exaggeration · whopper · fib · misrepresentation · distortion · concoction · embellishment · pretense
pathological
Relating to disease processes
- liarOne who speaks falsely
- compulsiveUnable to stop oneself
- lyingStating known falsehoods
confabulation · delusion · psychiatric · disorder · narcissism · histrionic · personality · grandiosity · egocentrism · malingering
obsession
Persistent, intrusive preoccupation
- compulsionIrresistible urge to act
- monomaniaFixation on single idea
- megalomaniacOne with grandiose self-image
egomaniac · pyromaniac · kleptomaniac · dipsomaniac · fixation · addiction · pathological · irresistible · uncontrollable · driven
deceiver
One who tricks others
- fabricatorCreator of lies
- falsifierOne who distorts truth
- prevaricatorOne who deceives verbally
impostor · charlatan · hoaxer · fraudster · dissembler · con-artist · pretender · phony · swindler · trickster
lie
Deliberate falsehood
invention · exaggeration · whopper · fib · misrepresentation · distortion · concoction · embellishment · pretense · fiction
mythomaniactruth-teller
One who speaks accurately
straight shooter · George Washington · Honest Abe · man of his word · honest broker
mythomaniacrealist
One accepting hard truths
pragmatist · literalist · empiricist · rationalist · fact-checker