Downright lying or Outright lying? [closed]

I'd like to describe that someone is lying explicitly without any shame.  Someone who lies and knows that they are lying and knows that others know but they don't care.  Should I say downright or outright lying?

Solution 1:

The word ‘downright’ matches closer to your intended emphasis of “without shame”; as compared to ‘outright’ which emphasizes abruptness without any hesitation that (possibly )was due, while also typically suggesting (to a lower degree than the former term) that doing the thing at-all is wrong.

My source of reference is everyday American English. If you search various definitions then you probably shall find that 'downright' specifically has a negative connotation and in common usage is preceded by some ostensibly-bad quality or thing (e.g. "downright ugly") , whereas 'outright' is not as explicitly meant disfavorably (as it can in some instances be beneficial or at least neutral sans broader context, e.g. "outright told me" implying "didn't wait to tell me" as opposed to "quick to give a blunt comment" ---unlike 'downright' which very seldom that would be the case, i.e. "downright joyful" is uncommon if not implicitly oxymoronic).

Solution 2:

Although downright and outright seem to have a lot in common, Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Synonyms (1984) treats them in two separate bundles of synonyms. Downright appears on the company of forthright, while outright appears with out-and-out, unmitigated, and arrant.

Here is that dictionary's discussion of the two terms of special relevance to the posted question:

Forthright, downright are comparable because thy agree in their basic sense of moving or in the habit of moving straight to the mark. ... Downright, on the other hand, suggests a falling down or descending with the straightness and swiftness of one who leaps from a cliff or of a weapon that delivers a crushing blow. The word, therefore, usually implies crude force rather than dexterity, and concern for the effect produced rather than the point reached; often, in addition, when applied to persons or things it connotes plainness, bluntness, flat-footedness, or an out-and-out quality [Examples:] {he ... shot into the black abyss, and plunged downright—Pope} {sculling against a swift current is work—downright work—Jefferies} {you seem a pretty ... downright sort of a young woman—Shaw} {a baby. What a coarse, downright word for the little creature—Rose Macauley} {this admirably downright, if not highly sophisticated, ukase has been cited in almost every trade-secrets case ... since—John Brooks}

...

Outright, out-and-out, unmitigated, arrant are comparable when they are used hyperbolically as meaning not limited or qualified. They are often used interchangeably as intensives, but there are clear differences in meaning. What is outright has gone to the extreme and can be made neither better nor worse or is past recall [Examples:] {he is an outright fool} {you speak outright nonsense}

The key difference between the two words from Merriam-Webster's point of view thus seems to be an emphasis on (often figurative) downward motion toward a target in downright and a state of external visibility and completion in outright.

As applied the poster's specific context of lying, Merriam-Webster's distinction between downright and outright would seem to understand "downright lying" as referring to purposeful lying directed to a particular objective of the liar and "outright lying" as referring to brazen or unapologetic lying without much concern on the liar's part for being found out or recognized as such later on.