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

But critics described that reasoning as disingenuous, as the changes the administration had proposed would paradoxically force institutions to cover the bill, and most likely shed staff and scale down research projects in the process. —Zach Montague, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2025

Multiple White House officials have cited the lack of firings in the Biden administration over the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to argue demands for firings over the Signal controversy are disingenuous. —Brett Samuels, The Hill, 2 Apr. 2025

The explanation for the probe is disingenuous, said Jorge Reyes Salinas, director of communications at Equality California, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy group. —Molly Gibbs, Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2025

Claims by leaders like Senate President Bill Ferguson that making changes to the Blueprint would not help this year’s deficit are also disingenuous. —Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 23 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

dis- + ingenuous entry 1

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for disingenuous

• ingenuous
• strenuous

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