misrepresent

nisrepresent, falsify, belie, garble mean to present or represent something in a manner that is contrary to the truth.

Misrepresent usually implies an intent to represent or portray falsely, and therefore may take as its subject not only a person or his utterance but also such things as an organization, a political platform, or a cartoon; it often carries a suggestion of deliberate lying, but it may suggest bias or prejudice or a desire to do injustice

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misrepresent a candidate's statement

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misrepresent the value of an article

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the account misrepresents not only his actions but his motives

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Falsify implies a perversion of the truth, either by deliberately altering the facts in whole or in part

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falsify bookkeeping records

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falsified her account of the accident

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or by giving something an appearance that does not accord with the truth or reality

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falsify the meaning of a document by an incorrect translation

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good breeding has made the tongue falsify the heart— Steele

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a low-priced sunglass lens said to be completely effective without falsifying the colors seen through it— Newsweek

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Belie implies an impression given that contradicts or is at variance with the truth or the facts; it usually takes as its subject an appearance, a manner, or a form of speech, and lacks the implication of intent that is usually present in the preceding words

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his confident words were belied by his anxious look

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a brusque manner that belies a real kindness of heart

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you are an Englishman . . . unless your physiognomy belies you— Kingsley

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Garble implies a mutilation or distortion of statements, testimony, evidence, or messages that need not be deliberate but that creates a wrong impression of the original and frequently gravely alters its tone or implications

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the newspapers have sadly garbled the account of his speech

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by the time the story had passed from mouth to mouth until it reached him again, it was so garbled that its original form was barely recognizable

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the manufacture and dissemination of propaganda literature, for the purpose of rousing the passions of the people by garbled statements— Inge

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Analogous words: *disguise, dissemble, cloak, mask, camouflage: simulate, counterfeit, feign (see ASSUME): *lie, prevaricate, equivocate, palter