Article by American lying about crowds, perhaps (5)
I believe the answer is:
maybe
'perhaps' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'article by american lying about crowds' is the wordplay.
'crowds' indicates the answer is hidden within the clue (the clue crowds or surrounds the answer).
'about' is a reversal indicator.
'ebyam' is hidden in the letters of 'article by american lying'.
'ebyam' backwards is 'MAYBE'.
(Other definitions for maybe that I've seen before include "Perhaps, possibly" , "Perhaps, might happen" .)