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Definition of Dissemble
1. Verb. Make believe with the intent to deceive. "He shammed a headache"
Generic synonyms: Belie, Misrepresent
Related verbs: Make, Make Believe, Pretend
Specialized synonyms: Play Possum, Take A Dive, Bull, Bullshit, Fake, Talk Through One's Hat, Mouth
Derivative terms: Dissembler, Dissembling, Feigning, Pretender, Pretending, Pretense, Pretense, Sham, Shammer, Shammer
2. Verb. Hide under a false appearance. "He masked his disappointment"
3. Verb. Behave unnaturally or affectedly. "She's just acting"
Related verbs: Act, Behave, Do
Specialized synonyms: Assume, Feign, Sham, Simulate
Derivative terms: Act, Pretender
Definition of Dissemble
1. v. t. To hide under a false semblance or seeming; to feign (something) not to be what it really is; to put an untrue appearance upon; to disguise; to mask.
2. v. i. To conceal the real fact, motives, intention, or sentiments, under some pretense; to assume a false appearance; to act the hypocrite.
Definition of Dissemble
1. Verb. (transitive) To disguise or conceal something; to feign. ¹
2. Verb. (transitive) To deliberately ignore something; to pretend not to notice. ¹
3. Verb. (intransitive) To falsely hide one's opinions or feelings. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Dissemble
1. [v -BLED, -BLING, -BLES]
Medical Definition of Dissemble
1. 1. To hide under a false semblance or seeming; to feign (something) not to be what it really is; to put an untrue appearance upon; to disguise; to mask. "Dissemble all your griefs and discontents." (Shak) "Perhaps it was right to dissemble your love, But why did you kick me down stairs?" (J. P. Kemble) 2. To put on the semblance of; to make pretense of; to simulate; to feign. "He soon dissembled a sleep." (Tatler) Synonym: To conceal, disguise, cloak, cover, equivocate. See Conceal. Origin: OF. Dissembler to be dissimilar; pref. Dis- (L. Dis-) + F. Sembler to seem, L. Simulare to simulate; cf. L. Dissimulare to dissemble. See Simulate, and cf. Dissimulate. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)
Lexicographical Neighbors of Dissemble
Literary usage of Dissemble
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. Publications by English Dialect Society (1850)
"... that he could not, with all his Cunning, dissemble his Resentment; but that
which most surprized all Men was, the sudden Resolution he took, ..."
2. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1831)
"These weighty considerations engaged Theodosius to dissemble his resentment, and
to accept the alliance of the tyrant. But he stipulated that Maximus should ..."
3. The Works of Alexander Hamilton: Containing His Correspondence, and His by Alexander Hamilton (1850)
"... and in replying, the frankness which is due to you and them, and which is not
less due to my own character, forbids me to dissemble. ..."
4. History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century by Jean Henri Merle d'Aubigné (1879)
"... Henry's Fears—New Letters to Anne—Anne falls sick ; her Peace—Henry writes to
her —Wolsey's Terror—Campeggio does not arrive—All dissemble at Court. ..."
5. The Port Folio by Joseph Dennie (1813)
"I will not dissemble the first emotions of joy on the recovery of my freedom,
and perhaps the establishment of my fame. But my pride was soon humbled, ..."
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