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To swear falsely. Same as Mainswear.

Acting or living under false pretenses; concealment of something by a false or unreal show; pretentious show; disguise. That masquerade of misrepresentation which invariably accompanied the political eloquence of Rome. De Quincey.

ans of which size or quantity is measured, as a graduated line, rod, vessel, or the like. False ells and measures be brought all clean adown. R. of Gloucester.

Given to deception or falsehood; lying; as, a mendacious person.

A falsehood; a lie. Sir T. Browne.

Resembling the arts of a harlot; alluring by false show; gaudily and deceitfully ornamental; tawdry; as, meretricious dress or ornaments. -- Mer`e*tri"cious*ly, adv. -- Mer`e*tri"cious*ness, n.

Erroneous or false belief.

To believe erroneously, or in a false religion. "That misbelieving Moor." Shak.

One who believes wrongly; one who holds a false religion. Shak.

To characterize falsely or erroneously; to give a wrong character to. They totally mischaracterize the action. Eton.

carelessly or in sport; as, a mischievous child. "Most mischievous foul sin." Shak. This false, wily, doubling disposition is intolerably mischievous to society. South.

Erroneous computation; false reckoning.

To conceive wrongly; to interpret incorrectly; to receive a false notion of; to misjudge; to misapprehend. Those things which, for want of due consideration heretofore, they have misconceived. Hooker.

Erroneous conception; false opinion; wrong understanding. Harvey.

A wrong consequence; a false deduction.

The quality of being miscreant; adherence to a false religion; false faith. [Obs.] Ayliffe.

One who holds a false religious faith; a misbeliever. [Obs.] Spenser. De Quincey. Thou oughtest not to be slothful to the destruction of the miscreants, but to constrain them to obey our Lord God. Rivers.

A miscreant, or believer in a false religious doctrine. [Obs.] Holinshed.

A false stroke with a billiard cue, the cue slipping from the ball struck without impelling it as desired.

To deceive or lead astray with a false light. Herrick.