dissemble

American  

[dih-sem-buhl] / dɪˈsɛm bəl /

verb (used with object)

• dissembles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dissembled,
  past participle,  past
• dissembling
  present participle

1. to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of.

   to dissemble one's incompetence in business.

   Synonyms:

   dissimulate, disguise, camouflage, hide, mask

2. to put on the appearance of; feign.

   to dissemble innocence.

3. Obsolete. to let pass unnoticed; ignore.

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verb (used without object)

• dissembles,
  present (3rd person singular)
• dissembled,
  past participle,  past
• dissembling
  present participle

1. to conceal one's true motives, thoughts, etc., by some pretense; speak or act hypocritically.

dissemble British  

/ dɪˈsɛmbəl /

verb

1. to conceal (one's real motives, emotions, etc) by pretence

2. (tr) to pretend; simulate

3. obsolete to ignore

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• dissemblance
  noun
• dissembler
  noun
• dissembling
  noun
• undissembled
  adjective
• undissembling
  adjective
• well-dissembled
  adjective
• dissemblingly
  adverb
• undissemblingly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Participles

• dissembling
  present
• dissembled
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• dissemble
  simple
• dissembles
  simple
• have dissembled
  perfect
• has dissembled
  perfect
• am dissembling
  progressive
• are dissembling
  progressive
• is dissembling
  progressive
• have been dissembling
  perfect progressive
• has been dissembling
  perfect progressive

Past

• dissembled
  simple
• had dissembled
  perfect
• was dissembling
  progressive
• were dissembling
  progressive
• had been dissembling
  perfect progressive

Future

• will dissemble
  simple
• will have dissembled
  perfect
• will be dissembling
  progressive
• will have been dissembling
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of dissemble

First recorded in 1490–1500; late Middle English dissemile, dissimill, alteration (by association with obsolete semblen, sembel “to bear a resemblance, appear to be”) of Middle English dissimulen “to assume a false appearance, be insincere,” from Old French dessembler, dissembler “to be unlike,” from Latin dissimulāre “to conceal the identity of, disguise”; see origin at dis- ¹, resemble, simulate

Explanation

To dissemble is to try to deceive someone. Your little brother tried to dissemble when you asked if he ate the last doughnut, but the chocolate icing on his face gave him away. Dissemble is a little more complicated than a straight lie or denial. When you dissemble, you disguise your true intentions or feelings behind a false appearance. To dissemble is to pretend that you don't know something, to pretend that you think one way when you act another way. "He worked for six months at that company before they discovered he was dissembling: he had lied on his application about his credentials and education."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dissemble dissembles dissembled dissembling

“This Court is now asked to determine whether the federal government has the power it claims — to dissemble and disassemble historical truths when it has some domain over historical facts,” Rufe wrote.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 16, 2026

But most of us had come to expect our leaders to duck, deal and dissemble until it would be too late.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

Decks of cards propagate, fly, dissemble and reconstitute after being shredded.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 1, 2022

In what was effectively their last shot at convincing jurors, each side framed their arguments around the question of whether Ms. Holmes, 37, had deliberately chosen to lie, mislead and dissemble about her start-up.

From New York Times ● Dec. 16, 2021

Even under the greatest duress, my capability to dissemble was scarcely diminished.

From "October Sky" by Homer Hickam

Evgeny dissembles: “Nothing. It is perhaps the fragrant scent of a passing track team.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 26, 2026

Looking at the tape of her statement, it is remarkable how smoothly she dissembles.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 18, 2019

It felt like a startlingly on-the-nose metaphor for the strange act of going about routine tasks while the world dissembles.

From The New Yorker ● Jan. 3, 2017

Sure, she compromises, she sometimes dissembles and at times her judgment has been flawed.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 5, 2016

That poor man, the Cardinal Richelieu, attempts and dissembles, toils and strives; and what does it all produce?

From The Betrothed From the Italian of Alessandro Manzoni by Alessandro Manzoni

As is evidently his habit, Walker dissembled, while throwing in some incomprehensible commentary.

From Salon ● Oct. 6, 2022

He was said to have dissembled when people on the call asked about whether repeat shop lifters or people who commit assaults without a weapon would be prosecuted and face jail terms.

From Fox News ● Jan. 20, 2022

Politicians have exaggerated and dissembled since time immemorial, including in their email dispatches.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2021

Instead of transparency, however, Mr. Hogan dissembled, backed by a Greek chorus of question-dodging, hairsplitting, fast-talking officials in his administration.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 6, 2020

She dissembled her disappointment as best she could, seeking excuses.

From The Salamander by Owen Johnson

Then, the dissembling from Burden’s husband, the declarations that it meant nothing, that he still loved her.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 31, 2026

This fits his dissembling about his reason for vetoing the tax-credit bill.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 24, 2026

But altogether, the scope of his lying certainly seems to go beyond dishonesty or dissembling for monetary gain alone.

From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2023

He also stumbled, early in the pandemic, by dissembling and stonewalling after nearly $10 million worth of covid-19 testing kits he ordered from South Korea turned out to be unusable.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 6, 2023

The very complexity of her feelings confirmed Briony in her view that she was entering an arena of adult emotion and dissembling from which her writing was bound to benefit.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan