1
as in to pretend
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 to dissimulate
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissemble
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—
Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
That same week, Altman made headlines at a Senate hearing by asking to be regulated — wowing senators who were more accustomed to tech CEOs dissembling or responding evasively to questions.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024
That year, with 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the administration was still dissembling about the American role in the war.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
That same week, Altman made headlines at a Senate hearing by asking to be regulated — wowing senators who were more accustomed to tech CEOs dissembling or responding evasively to questions.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024
That year, with 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the administration was still dissembling about the American role in the war.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissemble
Verb
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Kids can pretend to be Chase on a case, but there are also other Paw Patrol Halloween costumes, including Marshall, Rocky, Rubble, Skye, Zuma, and Everest.—
Katrina Cossey,
Parents,
1 Oct. 2025
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Beneath the prosthetics and punchlines lies a story about the cost of pretending and the possibility of renewal.—
JP Mangalindan,
Time,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Additionally, vice president of operations Donna Washington will assume a new role as vice president of external affairs.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Oct. 2025
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Enterprises often assume that simply scaling data—collecting millions more images or video hours—will close the performance gap.—
Brian Moore,
Fortune,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Agitated, anxious honeybees, on the other hand, responded with pessimism when researchers shook them to simulate a predatory attack.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
25 Sep. 2025
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The test was designed to simulate real traffic conditions with engineers embedding a series of sensors along the bridge to monitor stress, vibration and any deflection in the structure.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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