8 Types of Liars

The 8 types of liars fall on a spectrum ranging from sociopathic (the worst type of liar) to “tactful” (the least harmful). What type of liar are you?

I find the psychology of lying fascinating. So, while browsing research devoted to falsehoods, I started to reflect on the different types of liars I’ve met throughout the years.

This led to a Google search (“types of liars”) to see if it’s a thing. And it is… kinda – for example, there’s the sociopathic liar vs. the occasional liar vs. the white liar… all different types of liars.

The different types of liars can be categorized as ranging on a spectrum from pathological (the very worst type of liar) on one end, to tactful (the least harmful type of liar) on the opposite end (while taking into consideration, of course, the various reasons people lie.)


In this article, I describe the 8 types of liars I’ve encountered, both as a professional counselor and in my personal life.

8 Types of Liars

1. The Pathological Liar

This person lies constantly, for any reason, or for no reason at all. They don’t know when they’re lying and they’re incapable of being honest with not only others, but with themselves. Due to this, it’s impossible to have an authentic relationship with the pathological liar; their reality shifts on a whim.

What I consider pathological lying is what others may refer to as sociopathic. In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), repeated lying is a criterion for diagnosing antisocial personality disorder (formerly known as sociopathy or psychopathy).

The pathological liar isn’t necessarily dangerous or cruel, but they’ll never be someone you can trust. The pathological liar, providing they have other redeeming qualities, is a suitable acquaintance, but never a loyal friend, partner, or spouse.

2. The Intentional Liar

This type of liar enjoys pushing your buttons. They lie for the fun of it – for the sake of entertainment. It makes them feel powerful and in control. The people they lie to are their pawns. They often desire an audience.

While the intentional liar is similar to the pathological liar in some ways, they differ in that they’re fully aware of their untruths. The intentional liar is the high school quarterback who asks the least popular girl to prom… and then tells her it was just a prank – in front of all his friends.

They fib to get a reaction and then say (in a mean-spirited way), “I was just f—ing with you!” Sometimes, the intentional liar poses as a jokester, but they’re malicious and cruel. The only reason they’re not ranked higher than the pathological liar is that by possessing awareness, they at least have the capacity to change.

3. The Manipulative Liar

They lie to get what they want. They have an end goal and will do or say whatever it takes to achieve it.

They often use flattery or say what they think you want to hear in order to get a promotion, make a sale, get elected… or get in your pants.

Like the pathological liar, you won’t know where you stand with the manipulative liar. (Does she think you’re witty? Or does she like free dinner?) The manipulative liar is not malicious, but they can still cause harm. They have no place in your life.

4. The Protective Liar

This type of liar is at times dangerous but can also be perceived as noble; it all depends on what (or who) they’re protecting. They’ll go to any length to protect a secret, be it the murder of their lover’s wife or a demotion at work. They have no moral objections to lying as long as it serves their purpose.

They may protect your secrets as well, making them a loyal friend or spouse.

The danger lies in who or what they choose to protect. This type of liar may possess dark secrets that would shake you to the core if revealed. You’ll never know what they keep hidden and therefore, you’ll never (fully) know who they are. Their secret could be as benign as a childhood stutter… or it could be devastating and unspeakable, such as carrying on a secret love affair with your best friend or a past as a child sexual molester.

5. The Avoidant Liar

They strive to avoid anything they find unpleasant; instead of being honest, they offer partial truths or deflect. It could be that the avoidant liar is evading conflict or doesn’t want to complete a particular task. Maybe they don’t want to be judged. Instead of being straightforward, they make excuses or dance around the truth.

For example, the avoidant liar who opts out of a family dinner because they can’t stand their mother-in-law pleads a migraine. Or the avoidant liar who oversleeps and is late to work tells their boss they got a flat tire. And the avoidant liar who drunkenly spills red wine on the white carpet blames it on the dog.

Avoidant liars are frustrating because they often don’t say what they mean; you can never be sure if you’re getting the truth, a half-truth, or a made-up excuse.

6. The Impressive Liar

They aim to impress. This person might not see themselves as a liar; they may not even realize they’re being deceitful. They fabricate to gain the approval of others. They may stretch the truth to make a story a bit funnier. They fake a feeling to seem more self-assured than they are.

Lying to impress is more of a habit than a conscious act. The impressive liar believes their own stories after telling them time after time. (For example, after multiple retellings of a bar fight, the impressive liar actually believes that he knocked out three burly bikers, when in reality, he broke his fist attempting to punch the bartender for cutting him off.)

Impressive liars are mostly harmless, but can be annoying, especially when they’re obviously fibbing. They pose little risk… but why spend time with someone who feels the need to pretend to be something they’re not?

7. The Lazy Liar

Sometimes, speaking candidly requires an explanation. The lazy liar streamlines the truth because it’s less complicated than giving the full narrative.

For example, saying, “I was late because I grabbed the wrong report” is easier than “I’m late because after I grabbed the report, I realized one page was missing, and when I went back, I had to reprint the entire report because the page numbers were off and the heading was on a separate sheet. I then stopped to use the bathroom.” (Not worth the effort, right?)

Lazy lying is (relatively) harmless. The lazy liar doesn’t share the full story; rather, they opt to recount the edited “movie version” of the truth as opposed to the 700-page book version. (The only time lazy lying can be problematic is when the lazy liar deems a detail unimportant when it is, in fact, imperative.)

8. The Tactful Liar

They are considerate and well-meaning. They offer overly-optimistic reassurances when things aren’t going well and find themselves saying things like, “It wasn’t that bad” (even when yes, it was indeed that bad).

They’re pleasant to be around. Your plus-sized butt will never look fat in jeans and your disastrous dye job will be “edgy,” not “traffic-cone orange.”

You also won’t know when there’s spinach in your teeth, if your fly is down, when your breath is bad, or if your PowerPoint presentation was dull.

The tactful liar has the best of intentions; they don’t want to upset you or hurt your feelings. What they lack in candor, they make up for in amiability.


An honorable mention for the heroic (self-sacrificing) liar. This type of liar is exceedingly rare, which is why they’re not included with the eight more common types of liars.

The heroic liar is similar to the protective liar in that they’ll go to extremes to protect, but in their case, they lie to defend (or safeguard) someone they love (or to save a stranger even, if they believe it’s the right thing to do).

For example, if two children (brothers) are playing, and the youngest breaks a lamp, the older (heroic liar) will take the blame to save the younger from a spanking.

The heroic liar’s place on the spectrum would fall at the very end, past the well-meaning liar.


Can you relate to any of the above liars? Maybe you’re personally acquainted with one (or several) of them?

For more on the signs of a pathological liar and how to cope, click here.


types of liars

8 thoughts on “8 Types of Liars”

    1. Interesting, and I think accurate article. I’ve encountered all of these liar types, and have been a couple of them! Much more important than the lie itself is the motive behind it. To me, any lie to protect the lives and feelings of innocent people is good; any lie to help the guilty escape justice is evil.

  1. is it weird that all of these 9 types feel exactly like me. although 100% would never lie to hurt any one at least not intentionally. some lies have backed fired on me when trying to protect someone of a bad situations, but the situation was fucked up one either way.

  2. I have been two of these types of liars the tactful liar and a lazy liar and still am to some degree . It’s hard to notice these personality flaws in myself until someone points them out , thank you for that . I hope that I don’t just let this insight fall to the wayside but hope to stand diligent against it . I also have had known some habitual liars , in fact I’m married to one currently . It has its ups and downs , at times way to much ups and downs ! We are currently working on her lying problem and have made remarkable progress. I have the tools to fix her and she has the tools to fix me , if we allow it and/or if we are willing to brandish such tools ! When gathering insight with her lying problem and what it’s like to be suffering with that abnormality, she confided her feelings and psyche to me in great detail and revealed the mental trappings she is so utterly bound with . It left me in great angst and brought gooseflesh upon my skin . To be a bound prisoner incarcerated in a cell inside a prison engineered and constructed by your own mind for the sole purpose of containing its only single condemned prisoner to a life sentence of solitary confinement , that prisoner being yourself !

  3. This article is well- constructed and covers just about every example of lying one might encounter in society.
    One specific type of liar that I encountered and now dread meeting again is the “Protective Liar”. Your definition of a Protective Liar holds many parallels with what I would call a Narcissist personally.
    The one I encountered, and found myself in a relationship with for that matter, had many dark and risque secrets that she’d constantly weave lies in order to blanket and protect her false image. This one was hiding a life of prostitution and a record of serial cheating stretching back countless years (I tried to divulge how many years she had engaged in sex work, but was there’s no way to be sure). Out of the need to protect her biggest source of income, this woman would thread together the most intricate of fabrications in order to continue her ways while maintaining her image of being a normal, respectable professional. When someone close to her discovered, or just begins to discover, the truth she usually just tries to cut the person off and distance herself from them because her entire false image was then compromised. This was done coldly and without empathy, and she would defend her lies until the very end too.
    This protective liar was so extreme, she was quite comfortable maintaining multiple social media accounts using alias or her “hooker name” if you will.
    The sad part was this protective liar was able to manipulate me into engaging in a serious relationship with her before her house of cards began to fall.
    Beware the Protective Liar.

  4. I just had to Google to find what kind of liar my husband is. My husband would buy me things to make me comfortable but at little things like me complimenting someone for their skills or any good news about another he later looks for a conversation about that person or another and during same he would say mean stuff and when ask why he say something like that he would respond he never say that or swing that state to say I said it. Sometimes he cause an argument and keep coming to me saying that I lied on him or try to tell my folks the whole story with lies and about him starting a conversation and creating an argument. Then he would swear that God must come down and strike him if he lies when confronting him. Boy I tell you I never seen someone lied like that, and later come days after and say he sorry and take all the blame but the way I see it now is a very serious situation. I believe he has a mental problem or a lying force possess him that will make someone go Jill innocently. As for when you sometimes pass nearby him and accidently jam him or so he would make an issue and hold the spot crying out as if it was a hard hit or you did it intentionally omg… it unbeliveable

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