# liar

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈlaɪ.ə/ · frequency rank #6,931

## Definitions
1. Someone who tells a lie; especially, a person who frequently lies.
2. A swabber responsible for cleaning the outside parts of the ship rather than the cabins, a role traditionally assigned to a person caught telling a lie the previous week.

## Etymology
Inherited from Middle English lier, liere, lyere, liȝer, lieȝer, legher, from Old English lēgere, lēogere (“liar, false witness, hypocrite”), from Proto-West Germanic *leugārī, from Proto-Germanic *leugārijaz (“liar”), from *leuganą (“to lie”) + *-ārijaz, equivalent to lie + -ar. More at lie.

## Easily confused with
- **LR** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lr)
- **lie** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lie)
- **lit** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lit)
- **lip** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lip)
- **lil** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lil)
- **Liz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-liz)
- **lid** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lid)
- **lin** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lin)
- **lib** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lib)
- **Liu** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-liu)
- **Liv** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-liv)
- **lim** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lim)
- **lis** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lis)
- **loa** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-loa)
- **lor** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lor)
- **LIC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lic)
- **Lua** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lua)
- **LIF** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-lif)
- **like** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-like)
- **life** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/liar-vs-life)

## Common misspellings (3)
`ilar`, `liarr`, `lliar`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/liar