as in to pretend
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
as an actress she had been trained to dissimulate, so she had no trouble hiding her true feelings offstage as well
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in deception
the inclination or practice of misleading others through lies or trickery
got whatever she wanted through shameless dissimulation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in deceit
the pretending of having virtues, principles, or beliefs that one in fact does not have
teenagers indulging in dissimulation simply in order to be one of the in crowd
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissimulate
Tyler Cowen, Twin Cities, 5 July 2019
Verb
The result is that Republican politicians dissimulate much more, and of course there is no comparable primary competition.
—Tyler Cowen, Twin Cities, 5 July 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissimulate
Verb
-
City Hall needs to stop pretending the job is getting done and just do it.—
Boston Herald editorial staff,
Boston Herald,
7 Mar. 2026
-
Scammers are sending emails to residents involved in planning, zoning or land-use applications pretending to be Forest Lake city planning and zoning staff members, the city said Friday.—
Kristi Miller,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Later that year, federal prosecutors in New York charged the company’s former CEO Joanna Smith-Griffin, with securities fraud and related offenses tied to investor deception.—
Teresa Liu,
Daily News,
11 Mar. 2026
-
See what happens when jealousy, suspicion and deception take over.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
They are all caught in a web of deceit and revenge.—
Mary Ann Grossmann,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
-
She has now been sentenced to federal prison to pay for her deceit.—
Dan Raby,
CBS News,
27 Feb. 2026
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
-
For the most part though, For the First Time, Again is weighed down by oversinging and emotional affectation.—
Millan Verma,
Pitchfork,
30 Jan. 2026
-
The self-conscious aspiration to hipness here is unfortunate and decidedly not cool, but some may find such affectations quaint.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The confidence that began Carrick’s spell in charge will need to be matched with new cunning and craft.—
Carl Anka,
New York Times,
5 Mar. 2026
-
But Muck is no Epstein, malevolent and cunning.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
2 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Perfidy — from the French perfidie via the Latin perfidia — means deceitfulness, treachery or a breach of faith or promise.—
Harmeet Kaur,
CNN Money,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Republicans, who control half of the Minnesota House, pointed out that DHS failed to detect fraud for years.—
Mia Cathell,
The Washington Examiner,
14 Mar. 2026
-
Ron Yukelson San Luis Obispo Agree with Times columnist Mirjam Swanson, Bam Adebayo’s a fraud!—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissimulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissimulate. Accessed 14 Mar. 2026.
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