dissemble

[dih-sem-buhl]

See more synonyms for dissemble on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object), dis·sem·bled, dis·sem·bling.

to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of: to dissemble one's incompetence in business.
to put on the appearance of; feign: to dissemble innocence.
Obsolete. to let pass unnoticed; ignore.

verb (used without object), dis·sem·bled, dis·sem·bling.

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

Origin of dissemble

1490–1500; alteration (by association with obsolete semble to resemble) of Middle English dissimulen < Latin dissimulāre. See dis-¹, simulate

Related formsdis·sem·bler, noundis·sem·bling·ly, adverbun·dis·sem·bled, adjectiveun·dis·sem·bling, adjectiveun·dis·sem·bling·ly, adverbwell-dis·sem·bled, adjective

Can be confuseddisassemble dissemble

Synonyms for dissemble

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1. mask, hide, camouflage, dissimulate.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for dissembler

bigot, trickster, impostor, phony, crook, charlatan, quack, hypocrite, fraud, actor, deceiver, faker, imitator, fake, snob, dissembler, cheat, decoy, mountebank, informer

Examples from the Web for dissembler

Historical Examples of dissembler

Balboa was something of a dissembler himself on occasion, as you will see.
South American Fights and Fighters
Cyrus Townsend Brady
He was not a hypocrite, indeed, as to his virtues—a dissembler only in his ambition.
Athens: Its Rise and Fall, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton
How are hypocrite and dissembler contrasted with each other?
English Synonyms and Antonyms
James Champlin Fernald
Well, thought I, I must put on the dissembler a little, I see.
Pamela, or Virtue Rewarded
Samuel Richardson
At last, as he was no dissembler, he burst out passionately, "Why are you my enemy?"
Hard Cash
Charles Reade

British Dictionary definitions for dissembler

dissemble

verb

to conceal (one's real motives, emotions, etc) by pretence
(tr) to pretend; simulate
obsolete to ignore

Derived Formsdissemblance, noundissembler, noundissembling, noun, adjectivedissemblingly, adverb

Word Origin for dissemble

C15: from earlier dissimulen, from Latin dissimulāre; probably influenced by obsolete semble to resemble

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for dissembler

1520s, agent noun from dissemble.

dissemble

early 15c. (implied in dissemblable), apparently a variant of Middle English dissimule (influenced by Middle French dessembler or English resemble), late 14c., from Old French dissimuler, from Latin dissimulare (see dissimulation). Related: Dissembled; dissembling.