1
as in to pretend
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 to dissimulate
to take on a false or deceptive appearance
children learn to dissemble at a surprisingly early age
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of dissemble
The Identi-Kit Man (1962), a piece currently owned by the Tate museum network, displays a man whose body appears to dissemble into jigsaw pieces.
—
Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Sep. 2024
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
According to Rebecca, Jonathan once spent 30 minutes dissembling a lamp in a stranger’s yard to free a bird trapped inside.
—Sydney Bishop, CNN, 29 June 2024
Since the beginning of his political career, Donald J. Trump has misled, mischaracterized, dissembled, exaggerated and, at times, flatly lied.
—Angelo Fichera, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 6 Sep. 2024
Pushing back on reporters, at the time Scher often dissembled and appeared to brush aside concerns about what was clearly an increasingly out-of-control situation.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 19 July 2024
According to Rebecca, Jonathan once spent 30 minutes dissembling a lamp in a stranger’s yard to free a bird trapped inside.
—Sydney Bishop, CNN, 29 June 2024
Since the beginning of his political career, Donald J. Trump has misled, mischaracterized, dissembled, exaggerated and, at times, flatly lied.
—Angelo Fichera, New York Times, 8 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissemble
Verb
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Read: America is done pretending about meat All of this social-media attention has been translating into people’s actual eating habits, Victoria Fitzgerald, who oversees Whole Foods Market’s meat merchandising, told me.—
Valerie Trapp,
The Atlantic,
17 Apr. 2025
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The crowd cheered, but Rema was clearly lip-synching and not trying hard to pretend otherwise, pulling the mic away from his mouth while the recording of his voice continued.—
Jem Aswad,
Variety,
14 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kevin Brazile, in a tentative ruling issued on Thursday, denied CBS’ bid for a court order that would’ve temporarily blocked Sony’s efforts from assuming distribution.—
Winston Cho,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
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And there’s usually some wiggle room, a premium being paid to reap future opportunities or a discount to assume some risk.—
Evan Clark,
Footwear News,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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At the same time, AI tools can simulate these attacks so security teams can identify and address organizational vulnerabilities before an actual attack takes place.—
David Henkin,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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In early February, New Shepard successfully simulated the moon's low gravity on board its capsule during a brief flight.—
Eric Lagatta,
USA Today,
7 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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