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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in lying
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Dissimilar Words
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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Recent Examples of dissembling
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissembling
Noun
-
Always one step ahead of the police, Fantomas is a master of deception and chaos.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
4 Nov. 2025
-
The three-part docuseries that premiered this week chronicles how Rasmussen discovered Johnson’s deceptions and finally left him, only to be harassed by her ex after their divorce.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
31 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Over the course of eight episodes, the show traces how mounting pressures, deceit and betrayal led to patriarch Alex Murdaugh murdering his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, in 2021.—
Brianne Tracy,
PEOPLE,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Since the movie's release in September, the relationship between the two has soured and in the weeks leading up to the bond hearing the filmmaker in court filings accused Goudreau of deceit, financial coercion and threatening conduct.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
2 Nov. 2025
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
Verb
-
Words like that carry generations of pain, and pretending otherwise only keeps the cycle going.—
Lisa Respers France,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
-
People just pretending, and so on.—
Margaret Talbot,
New Yorker,
3 Nov. 2025
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
Noun
-
Activists have decried the decision as hypocrisy.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
6 Nov. 2025
-
The hypocrisy of monarchy in one flight #AbolishTheMonarchy.—
Jack Royston,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
President Trump is mendacious, vengeful, and unscrupulous.—
Krista Kafer,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
-
At Comedy Central, Colbert rose to prominence playing a slightly exaggerated version of Bill O’Reilly and other unapologetically mendacious Fox News pundits from the George W. Bush years.—
Alan Sepinwall,
Rolling Stone,
18 July 2025
Verb
-
With Kevin Gausman, José Berríos (assuming elbow health) and Trey Yesavage pencilled into starting spots next year, the Jays have at least two holes to fill.—
Mitch Bannon,
New York Times,
2 Nov. 2025
-
Without context, you’d be forgiven for assuming that the Elena in question was not another author’s creation, but Messud’s own.—
Lily Meyer,
The Atlantic,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissembling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissembling. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
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