No More Belie, Just Stop

There it was in one of my morning newspapers, a headline using a verb that has lost its meaning:

Have most people ever known the definition of "belies"? I wonder. At this point, though, I think almost no one knows what it means, and those who think they do have it backwards.

As both the Grammarist site and Garner's Modern American Usage say, its meaning is to contradict or to give a false idea to, but it is subject to an extremely common misuse that is just the opposite: to reveal. Both attribute that to possible confusion with the similar word "betray."

In the case of this Pioneer Press headline, it makes some sense if the writer meant it either way, but it can only be a summary of the story with one meaning. It's almost a Mad Lib, since many readers will not know what the word means. "Omicron [verbs] its fatality danger." They would have been better off picking a different word that's clearer.

Omicron reveals its fatality danger
Variant's lower risks are offset by surge in U.S. COVID infections

Omicron hides its fatality danger
Variant's lower risks are offset by surge in U.S. COVID infections

"Obscures" would be a better word than "hides." If the "its" was dropped from the headline, it would fit in the space.

Any of these would have made for a better headline, depending on which one best reflected the content of the story.