disingenuous

adjective

dis·​in·​gen·​u·​ous ˌdis-in-ˈjen-yə-wəs 

-yü-əs

: lacking in candor

also : giving a false appearance of simple frankness : calculating

disingenuously adverb

disingenuousness noun

Did you know?

A disingenuous remark might contain some superficial truth, but it is delivered with the intent to deceive or to serve some hidden purpose. Its base word ingenuous (derived from a Latin adjective meaning "native" or "freeborn") can describe someone who, like a child, is innocent or lacking guile or craftiness. English speakers began frequently joining the negative prefix dis- with ingenuous to create disingenuous during the 17th century.

Examples of disingenuous in a Sentence

"It's had nine murders since 1937—about the same as you would get in many small towns." This was correct, but a wee disingenuous. The AT [Appalachian Trail] had no murders in its first thirty-six years and nine in the past twenty-two. —Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, 1999

… and he egged Badger on, asking a disingenuous question about the antivivisection rally in Cleveland, and as Badger took the thought up and chewed it over, the Doctor made as if to excuse himself. —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993

… he has a disingenuous way of resorting to slang when he wants to make a big point but is afraid of sounding pretentious. —Karen Schoemer, New York Times Book Review, 31 Oct. 1993

Unity is at best an ideal, at worst a disingenuous political slogan. —Salman Rushdie, The Independent on Sunday, 25 Nov. 1990

Her recent expressions of concern are self-serving and disingenuous.

Recent Examples on the Web

The ballot measure is extremely controversial, and has been met with plenty of resistance from Colorado hunters, who view it as a disingenuous attempt to chip away at hunting rights and turn public perception against hunters by a minority group of animal-rights activists. —Dac Collins, Outdoor Life, 3 Oct. 2024

On the right, the gaffe was very quickly jumped on to push a disingenuous conspiracy that Walz, who has done more than many lawmakers in recent years to curb gun violence, was in some way compassionate toward school shooters. —David Gilbert, WIRED, 2 Oct. 2024

Meanwhile, Nima tries one last time to resolve things peacefully and without bloodshed by appealing to Ruth’s leadership, which seems a bit disingenuous coming from a guy who literally just tried to bury the entire town of New Eden for no reason at all just last week. —Rafael Motamayor, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2024

Greater transparency about both the disingenuous arguments made by anti-ESG advocates, as well as greater awareness of the market-beating returns of gap-closing investments, can keep pensions from becoming a game of political football. —Orianna Rosa Royle, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

dis- + ingenuous entry 1

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined above

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