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
-
When Game 3 of the 1917 World Series between the White Sox and New York Giants was rained out, Lardner was in New York and wrote a fictional column pretending the game had actually been played.—
Paul Sullivan,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
-
Led by the energetic Danny, the show take viewers on adventures to find pirate treasure, pretend to be superheroes, and fly like an airplane.—
Kara Nesvig,
Parents,
14 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Comte’s feature directorial debut follows Quebec teenager Antoine, who travels to Ghana for a showdown with Kojo, a local gang member, amid an escalating game of deception.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
16 Feb. 2026
-
The Portage case is different, as the subcontractor and his co-conspirators are accused of deception in their failure to deliver the televisions to warehouses.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Such deceit is incompatible with public service.—
Diana Paulsen,
ABC News,
6 Feb. 2026
-
But Prosecutor Ben Ladinig argued any grains of authenticity in Haobsh's life were far outweighed by deceit.—
Natalie Morales,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 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
-
Holding viewers by the throat for a handful of strong beats, even as the script slips through the entire cast’s fingers, the devilish actor sells Besson’s interpretation on charisma and cunning.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Strategy and cunning or physicality and grace?—
Zack Pierce,
New York Times,
3 Feb. 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
-
This latest news comes just a few weeks after Mayweather filed a lawsuit against Showtime Networks and the former president of Showtime Sports, accusing the company of helping facilitate a fraud scheme that deprived him of roughly $340 million in earnings.—
Matt Schubert,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The complaint notes that since 2023, five former executive officers have been indicted on federal charges including embezzlement, conspiracy, coercion, insurance fraud and related crimes.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Dissimulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissimulate. Accessed 22 Feb. 2026.
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