dissembling 1 of 3

noun

1
as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery a crafty child given to frequent dissembling to get what she wants

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deceit
the pretending of having virtues, principles, or beliefs that one in fact does not have in the end the preacher's smarmy dissembling is discovered, and he is exposed as a fraud

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dissembling

2 of 3

adjective

as in lying

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dissembling

3 of 3

verb

present participle of dissemble
1
as in pretending
to present a false appearance of he dissembled happiness at the news that his old girlfriend was getting married—to someone else

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2
as in dissimulating
to take on a false or deceptive appearance children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dissembling
Noun
Such episodes now look like clumsy moments in a decade of dissembling. — Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Such dissembling by the people who are where the buck stops raises doubt that the Pentagon’s final report will be candid. — Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 13 Mar. 2026 His inner self is right there and raw at the surface, leaving him incapable of dissembling, which is why Lancaster Dodd likes him so much. — Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Verb
When McKenzie asks him how much he’s contributed to the coffers of politicians, his dodging of the question is pure dissembling theater. — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissembling
  1. deception
  2. deceit
  3. lying
  4. pretending
  5. deceptiveness
  6. hypocrisy
  7. mendacious
  8. assuming
Noun
  • Most often, this would be a network of fake accounts discovered by social media companies as part of their efforts to eliminate bots, scams, and online deception on their platforms.
    — RENÉE DIRESTA, Foreign Affairs, 5 Oct. 2026
  • In writing her for the series, Kazan realized Cathy, despite her deceptions, is almost always telling the truth.
    — Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of deception
Noun
  • There was money, manipulation, secret meetings with shady characters in China, fake identities, lies, trickery, and deceit.
    — Eamon Javers, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Its Emmy success, and Rhys’s record-setting win along with it, is built on a foundation of deceit.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of deceit
Adjective
  • He was found dead lying face up on his hotel bed with no signs of trauma, according to a Monday report from the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
    — Kenan Draughorne, Los Angeles Times, 14 Jan. 2022
Definition of lying
Verb
  • In his appeal, Juszczyk also argued that fining players for pretending to drink beer was hypocritical given the NFL’s beer sponsorships.
    — Rick Maese, Washington Post, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The man pretending to be a teen was then contacted by 34-year-old Juan Leonel Jimenez Silva, according to police.
    — Sofia Saric, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of pretending
Noun
  • Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.
    — Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
  • Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.
    — Sue Brightman, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Jan. 2025
Definition of deceptiveness
Noun
  • However, its premise also illustrates the very ideological hypocrisy that has alienated much of the public from the press.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Mark’s ambition, entitlement, and do-gooding hypocrisy have clearly undercut his family’s needs, and now, this high-pressure situation is exposing all these simmering domestic conflicts.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of hypocrisy
Adjective
  • The 2026 State of the Union speech stands in contrast, a speech by a mendacious demagogue who has degraded his listeners by debauching their instincts.
    — Eliot A. Cohen, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
  • Supporters of recent state AI regulations said the measures will address potential threats to public safety and personal privacy, and to counter any mendacious actions created by AI, while not hindering innovation.
    — Hope Moses, Chicago Tribune, 10 Jan. 2026
Definition of mendacious
Verb
  • Skydance will have a mountain of debt, projected to be north of $80 billion, after assuming the debt burdens of previous M&A incurred by Paramount and WBD and raising new debt financing.
    — Todd Spangler, Variety, 2 Oct. 2026
  • In my hypothetical example, his 2026 fortune falls from $908 billion reported by Forbes to about $317 billion in my counterfactual 10 percent wealth tax example (again, assuming his wealth over the past 10 years grew smoothly).
    — Jeff Hoopes, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of assuming

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dissembles
dissembling
disseminate
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Cite this Entry

“Dissembling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissembling. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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