If you mean someone who tells lies, the word is liar — spelled with -ar, not -er. Lier is a real but rare and largely archaic word meaning someone who lies down or lies in wait. The two words have different meanings, different origins, and different levels of use. In nearly every sentence anyone writes today, liar is the word they need.
Why “Liar” Ends in -ar Instead of -er
This is the question most people are actually searching for when they compare these two words, and it’s worth answering directly.
English forms agent nouns — words meaning “one who does X” — by adding -er to a verb: writer, runner, speaker, teacher. The expected form for “one who lies (deceives)” would be lier. But the word is liar, and the -ar spelling is a historical accident.
Liar descends from Old English lēogan, meaning “to tell a falsehood” or “to deceive.” In Middle English, the agent noun form was lyare or lyere — both spellings were in use. Over time, the -ar spelling stabilized as the standard written form, likely by analogy with Latin-influenced agent nouns ending in -ar (like scholar and vicar). The -er ending did not survive for this specific word. As a result, liar kept an irregular spelling that no longer matches the standard English agent noun pattern.
Lier, by contrast, comes from Old English licgan, meaning “to lie down, to recline, to be in a horizontal position.” That verb produced the regular agent noun lier — “one who lies (down)” — following the standard -er pattern. The two agent nouns ended up as near-homophones built from two separate Old English verbs that happen to share a modern spelling in their base form.
What Each Word Means
Liar — a person who tells lies, makes false statements, or deceives deliberately.
He was exposed as a liar in front of the entire committee.
Nobody trusts a liar for long, even in small things.
She called him a liar, but couldn’t prove it in the meeting.
This is the word in everyday writing, conversation, fiction, journalism, and law. Merriam-Webster lists it as a common noun with clear, active definition. It is never archaic, never rare, and never ambiguous.
Lier — one who lies down; or one who lies in ambush or in wait. Merriam-Webster and most major dictionaries label this word rare or archaic. Most modern speakers have never used it consciously.
The exhausted soldier played the lier, motionless behind the ridge.
Among the ruins lay a lier in wait, patient and still.
Both uses of lier describe horizontal position or concealed waiting, never deception.
“Lier in Wait” — The Most Common Real Use
The phrase “lier in wait” is the primary documented context in which lier appears in published texts. It appears in military writing, legal language, and most notably in the King James Bible. The Book of Judges uses the phrase repeatedly to describe soldiers positioned in ambush: men who lie in concealment waiting to attack.
This phrase is the main reason lier survives in dictionaries at all. Outside this fixed historical phrase and certain archaic literary contexts, the word is nearly nonexistent in contemporary writing. Writers who encounter it in older texts now know exactly what it means.
“Liar” vs. “Lying” as a Modifier
One practical question related to liar: when you want to use it before a noun, is “a liar politician” correct?
In most cases, the adjective form lying is the more natural modifier: a lying witness, a lying executive, a lying account of events. Using liar directly before a noun is grammatically possible but less idiomatic: “a liar politician” sounds slightly awkward to most American ears, while “a lying politician” or “a politician who is a liar” both flow naturally.
As a predicate noun — after a linking verb — liar is fully standard: He is a liar. She’s a liar. As an attributive modifier, prefer lying or restructure the sentence.
Why Spellcheck Won’t Save You
Because lier is a real dictionary word, most spellcheckers accept it without flagging it as an error. A writer who types “You’re such a lier” when they meant liar may get no correction at all. Some grammar checkers — including Grammarly in some configurations — will flag the error contextually, but not all do, and casual environments (texts, social posts, email) almost never will.
This is one of the few spelling errors that requires deliberate human attention rather than software correction.
Common Mistakes and Quick Fixes
Mistake: Stop being such a lier. (intended: dishonest person)
Fix: Stop being such a liar.
Mistake: He’s the biggest lier I’ve ever met.
Fix: He’s the biggest liar I’ve ever met.
Mistake: Assuming lier is always a typo and not a word.
Clarification: Lier is listed in Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, Collins, and Cambridge. It means someone lying down or in wait — archaic and rare, but not invented.
Mistake: Writing “a liar politician” when describing someone who lies.
Fix: A lying politician or a politician who is a liar reads more naturally.
Quick Practice
Choose the correct word.
- Everyone in the room knew the witness was a [liar / lier].
- The old soldier described himself as a [liar / lier] in wait during the ambush.
- She called him a [liar / lier] and walked out of the meeting.
- The [liar / lier] in the story never admitted what he had done.
- In the Bible passage, the [liar / lier] in the field waited in silence.
Answers: 1. liar — 2. lier (ambush context, archaic) — 3. liar — 4. liar (dishonest person) — 5. lier (lier in wait, biblical usage)
FAQs
Is “lier” a real word?
Yes. It appears in Merriam-Webster, Dictionary.com, Collins, and Cambridge, defined as “one who lies (as in ambush)” or “one who lies down.” Most dictionaries label it rare or archaic. It is not a misspelling of liar, but in practice, anyone who types it in modern writing usually meant liar.
Why does “liar” end in -ar instead of -er?
Because liar descends from Middle English lyare, which fossilized an older spelling pattern. The -er form — lier — took a different path as the agent noun for lie down. The standard English agent noun suffix is -er, but liar kept its historical -ar ending the same way scholar and vicar kept theirs.
What’s the correct spelling for a person who tells lies?
Always liar — spelled l-i-a-r. This is the standard, universally accepted English word for someone who makes false statements or deceives. The -ar ending is irregular but correct.
Will spellcheck catch “lier” when I mean “liar”?
Not reliably. Because lier is a legitimate dictionary word, most spellcheckers and grammar checkers pass it without flagging an error. You have to catch this one manually — it’s a meaning error that software doesn’t always detect.
Is “lier in wait” correct?
Yes. “Lier in wait” is the primary documented historical use of lier, appearing in biblical texts (including the King James Bible’s Book of Judges), legal writing, and military history. It describes a person lying in concealment, waiting to ambush. This fixed phrase is the main reason lier survives in dictionaries.
Should I write “a liar politician” or “a lying politician”?
A lying politician is more natural as a modifier. Liar works best as a predicate noun — after a linking verb — rather than directly before another noun. “She is a liar” is standard; “a liar senator” reads awkwardly. When you need a modifier, use lying.
The Bottom Line
If you mean a person who tells lies, the word is liar — l-i-a-r. The -ar ending is a historical irregularity, not a mistake. Lier is a real but archaic word meaning someone who lies down or lies in wait, used primarily in the fixed phrase “lier in wait” in historical and biblical writing. Spellcheck will not flag lier as a typo when you mean liar, so the check has to be deliberate. In any sentence involving dishonesty or deception, liar is always the correct word.
Conclusion
“Liar” is the word you almost always want. It means someone who tells lies, and it’s the spelling that fits nearly every real sentence.
“Lier” exists in the dictionary, but it means something else entirely, and it’s rare enough that most writers never need it. If you catch yourself typing “lier,” check what you actually meant. Odds are, it’s “liar.”
