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
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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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The study saw parents use actions to joke and pretend with kids aged 16 to 20 months old.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Sep. 2025
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Scrolling on one’s phone can be a deadening experience, but here’s someone feeling, or at least pretending to feel, a genuine feeling—even if the abundance of these videos surely numbs us further.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
15 Sep. 2025
Verb
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That’s assuming no more Fed officials are fired, which could change the trajectory of monetary policy for the next few years.—
Yeo Boon Ping,
CNBC,
10 Sep. 2025
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A lot of people assume that individuals make conscious decisions that lead to these outcomes.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The paper also highlights the potential of digital twins — virtual patient replicas that allow doctors to simulate treatments before applying them in real life.—
Matthew Kayser,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Today’s use cases are limited, with most work concentrated on simulating chemistry and physics.—
Trefis Team,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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