Synonyms of dissembling

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deception
• deceit
• deceptiveness
• fraud
• cheating
• cunning
• deceitfulness
• lying
• duplicity
• dishonesty
• dissimulation
• double-dealing
• fakery
• crookedness
• guile
• secrecy
• craftiness
• cozenage
• crookery
• wiliness
• dupery
• cunningness
• prevarication
• craft
• subterfuge
• artifice
• mendacity
• fraudulence
• trickery
• equivocation
• hypocrisy
• chicanery
• swindling
• jugglery
• foxiness
• guilefulness
• skulduggery
• artfulness
• legerdemain
• insincerity
• wile
• shrewdness
• fib
• deviousness
• obliquity
• untruth
• hanky-panky
• falsehood
• sanctimoniousness
• mountebankery
• underhandedness
• covertness
• chicane
• furtiveness
• caginess
• sneakiness
• shiftiness
• unscrupulousness
• slipperiness
• slyness
• falsity
• shadiness
• two-facedness
• treacherousness
• smoothness
• slickness
• stealthiness
• oiliness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sincerity
• good faith
• ingenuousness
• artlessness
• forthrightness
• frankness
• candor
• openness
• directness
• honesty
• plainness
• guilelessness
• reliability
• probity
• integrity
• candidness
• solidity
• trustworthiness
• dependability
• goodness
• truthfulness
• righteousness
• plainspokenness
• decency
• incorruptibility
• uprightness
• reliableness
• trustiness
• virtuousness
• trustability

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• deception
• deceit
• deceptiveness
• hypocrisy
• affectation
• dissimulation
• deceitfulness
• insincerity
• pretense
• pretension
• dishonesty
• piousness
• cant
• double-dealing
• duplicity
• perfidy
• falseness
• shamming
• two-facedness
• fakery
• sanctimoniousness
• glibness
• self-righteousness
• falsity
• self-satisfaction
• affectedness
• artificiality
• smoothness
• pretentiousness
• fraudulentness
• unctuousness
• oiliness

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• sincerity
• genuineness
• honesty
• frankness
• candor
• openness
• truthfulness
• directness
• forthrightness
• probity
• straightforwardness
• sincereness
• artlessness
• naturalness
• openheartedness
• guilelessness
• unaffectedness

dissembling

2 of 3

adjective

as in lying

Related Words

• lying
• mendacious
• duplicitous
• dishonest
• fraudulent
• misleading
• untrustworthy
• untruthful
• deceiving
• deceptive
• faithless
• deceitful
• fallacious
• specious
• cunning
• beguiling
• trick
• knavish
• crooked
• delusive
• double-dealing
• wily
• crafty
• ambidextrous
• defrauding
• underhanded
• artful
• shifty
• deluding
• sneaky
• delusory
• sly
• devious
• subtle
• tricky
• confounding
• inaccurate
• slick
• perplexing
• subtile
• underhand
• incorrect
• distracting
• false
• guileful
• foxy
• puzzling
• perfidious
• trickish
• wrong
• shady
• insidious
• fast
• feigned
• evasive
• treacherous
• counterfeit
• bewildering
• ambiguous
• sham
• spurious
• phony
• sneaking
• bogus
• forged
• fake
• hypocritical
• jive
• insincere
• equivocal
• circuitous
• backhanded
• artificial
• two-faced
• left-handed

Dissimilar Words

• plain
• direct
• frank
• outspoken
• open
• candid
• illuminating
• straight
• explanatory
• revealing
• clarifying
• plainspoken
• revelatory
• truthful
• honest
• openhearted
• free-spoken
• trustworthy
• elucidative
• forthright
• foursquare
• straightforward
• aboveboard
• nondeceptive

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pretending
• assuming
• simulating
• acting
• feigning
• affecting
• passing (for)
• professing
• bluffing
• counterfeiting
• shamming
• faking
• concealing
• forging
• posing
• putting on
• masquerading
• making believe
• playing
• dissimulating
• imitating
• masking
• disguising
• impersonating
• camouflaging
• playacting
• malingering
• letting on
• feinting

2

as in dissimulating

to take on a false or deceptive appearance

children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age

Synonyms & Similar Words

• pretending
• dissimulating
• posing
• acting
• making a show
• making believe
• letting on
• playing
• masquerading
• putting on an act
• making out
• feigning
• making a pretense
• putting up a front
• concealing
• playacting
• shamming
• simulating
• affecting
• faking
• camouflaging
• impersonating
• disguising
• counterfeiting
• professing
• masking
• assuming
• feinting
• bluffing
• putting on

Example Sentences

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