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What do you call someone who lies to make themselves look good?


Lying to make oneself look better than one really is has been a common human behavior across cultures and throughout history. Though most people tell “little white lies” now and then to avoid hurting feelings or get out of minor trouble, some individuals take lying to an extreme, constructing elaborate false personas to impress or manipulate others. So what terms accurately capture this tendency toward self-aggrandizing dishonesty? Let’s explore some possibilities.

Possibility 1: Compulsive Liar

A compulsive liar is someone who lies frequently and habitually, even about minor matters, without any clear rational reason for doing so. For a compulsive liar, spinning falsehoods becomes almost addictive and can seem outside of their control. While compulsive lying in some individuals stems from a personality disorder or other psychiatric condition, others lie compulsively for reasons like:

  • Seeking attention
  • Avoiding boredom or difficult realities
  • Covering up poor self-esteem

Compulsive liars may weave elaborate fictions about their background, achievements, experiences or relationships in order to portray themselves as more interesting, successful or likable. However, compulsive lying is not always aimed at self-aggrandizement. Those who do it to boost their image could be called self-aggrandizing compulsive liars.

Key traits of a compulsive liar:

  • Lies frequently about minor things for no clear reason
  • May mix truth with lies, making stories difficult to unravel
  • Often gets caught contradicting their own claims
  • Lies seem habitual rather than calculated toward a specific goal

While the term applies to some, “compulsive liar” does not inherently capture the element of inflating one’s status or achievements.

Possibility 2: Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome refers to a psychological pattern where people feel that their accomplishments or abilities are undeserved or that they’re fooling others into overestimating them. Despite external evidence of competence, imposters chronically doubt their own capabilities and fear being exposed as a “fraud.”

As a result, some individuals with imposter syndrome resort to lying or exaggerating their credentials, talents or accomplishments so they appear to measure up to others’ perceptions. Common lies include:

  • Claiming educational degrees they didn’t actually obtain
  • Fabricating work histories and past professional positions
  • Taking credit for others’ successes
  • Exaggerating their impact on projects/results

These self-bolstering lies are intended to convince both themselves and others that they truly deserve any accolades or status they’ve achieved. However, imposter syndrome lying is driven more by profound inner insecurity versus pure arrogance.

Key traits of imposter syndrome lying:

  • Stems from a core belief they don’t deserve their success
  • Falsehoods intended to cover up perceived inadequacy
  • Often tied to anxiety around failure or being “found out”
  • Lies uphold others’ external perceptions of competence

While useful in some cases, imposter syndrome doesn’t fully capture deceit motivated by more selfish aims like greed, power-seeking or vanity.

Possibility 3: Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a psychiatric condition marked by an inflated, grandiose sense of self-importance, extreme self-involvement and lack of empathy. While often charismatic and charming on the surface, narcissists have an overpowering need for constant praise and validation.

Pathological lying is one major behavioral symptom of NPD. Lies tend to center around enhancing the narcissist’s status, brilliance, superiority, and deservingness of admiration. Common lies include:

  • Embellishing accomplishments or talents
  • Taking credit for others’ work and achievements
  • Exaggerating their academic qualifications, career trajectory or life experiences
  • Fabricating high-status contacts, relationships or insider knowledge

These lies bolster their fantasized self-image of being special, elite, accomplished and enviable. They may also serve to conceal any perceived flaws or inadequacies. NPD lying is self-centered, persistent and lacking self-awareness or remorse.

Key traits of narcissistic lying:

  • Driven by egocentrism and sense of grandiose entitlement
  • Used to uphold their inflated, superior self-concept
  • Often embellishes relationships with influential/high-status people
  • May display anger or arrogance when lies are questioned

The excessive self-focus and lack of conscience involved in NPDDifferentiates it from many other forms of lying and makes “narcissist” an apt descriptor for some pathological liars.

Possibility 4: Social Climber

While not a clinical term, “social climber” is a popular label for those who constantly lie or disingenuously self-promote to gain status and acceptance. For social climbers, spinning false narratives about themselves is simply a tool for advancing up the social, professional or economic hierarchy. Their ulterior goal is upward mobility.

Common social climber lies include:

  • Name dropping elite contacts or famous acquaintances they don’t actually have
  • Claiming membership in prestigious clubs, groups or organizations
  • Boasting of non-existent academic credentials
  • Embellishing their role or influence in high-profile projects/deals

These lies serve to ingratiate them with perceived “superiors” and open doors to new opportunities they feel deserving of based on their “qualifications.” Beneath the deceit is often a prevailing sense of entitlement combined with deep status anxiety.

Key traits of a social climber:

  • Lies specifically to gain entry to elite social/professional circles
  • Name drops and association drops to increase own standing
  • Status seeking is the primary motivator, versus internal dysfunction
  • Feels owed special treatment and privilege

The label “social climber” cuts to the heart of this variety of self-inflating dishonesty – leveraging lies solely to ascend the hierarchy.

Possibility 5: Confidence Man/Con Artist

Also known as “con men” or “grifters,” confidence men are skilled professional scammers who elaborately lie, cheat and manipulate to illegally obtain money, resources or sensitive information. While their “con games” take many forms, some specialize in cultivating a credible but fully fictional persona of wealth, power and success to extract resources from unsuspecting victims.

Common lies include:

  • Pretending to be a successful entrepreneur, investor, or industry mogul
  • Name dropping elite groups and contacts they don’t truly have access to
  • Fabricating an impressive career history and current “deals”
  • Feigning insider knowledge of lucrative investment opportunities

By selling an image of prosperity, status and business savvy, they can manipulate targets into fraudulent investment schemes or transactions that ultimately benefit the con artist. Their inflated claims are a deliberate means to an illegal end.

Key traits of a con artist:

  • Creates elaborate false identity and network of lies
  • Deceit is always in service of stealing money or resources
  • Masterful ability to exploit human trust and gullibility
  • Has no remorse; lying is a way of life

The perfectly apt descriptor “con artist” captures professionals who use figments of status to separate victims from their valuables or sensitive data.

Conclusion

While many flavors of deception exist, individuals who habitually lie to embellish their importance, achievements, connections or skills share some core characteristics, including:

  • Inflated sense of self/grandiosity
  • Strong desire for status, admiration or validation
  • Willingness to distort reality to manage others’ perceptions
  • Lack of authenticity in their presentation and relationships

But the specific motivations and pathologies underlying their self-aggrandizing dishonesty can vary substantially. Labels like narcissists, imposters, social climbers and con artists capture different nuances, and not all extreme liars fit neatly into one box. However, the basic term “someone who lies to make themselves look good” pithily encompasses the crux of the behavior for any individual so predisposed.