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
You’d like your government to tell you the truth, and the government dissembled repeatedly after the raid about what the rules of engagement were.
—
Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
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
That same week, Altman made headlines at a Senate hearing by asking to be regulated — wowing senators who were more accustomed to tech CEOs dissembling or responding evasively to questions.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024
That year, with 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the administration was still dissembling about the American role in the war.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Aryeh Neier, The New York Review of Books, 3 Mar. 2025
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
That same week, Altman made headlines at a Senate hearing by asking to be regulated — wowing senators who were more accustomed to tech CEOs dissembling or responding evasively to questions.
—Brian Fung, CNN, 14 Feb. 2024
That year, with 23,000 U.S. troops in Vietnam, the administration was still dissembling about the American role in the war.
—Trip Gabriel, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024
See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissemble
Verb
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Labor Day weekend is a final chance to fire up the grill, argue over who makes the best potato salad and lounge around pretending Monday (and fall) isn’t coming.—
Emily Price,
Forbes.com,
27 Aug. 2025
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The callers would pretend to be collecting for causes such as clean drinking water in poor countries across the world, or for human trafficking victims.—
Tresa Baldas,
Freep.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Armadillos are often assumed to be a critter of the wild west, but they can actually be found in several places across the United States, including Indiana.—
Katie Wiseman,
IndyStar,
22 Aug. 2025
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Probably safe to assume Leto’s DAMAGED take on the Joker won’t be reappearing in the DCU.—
Scott Meslow,
Vulture,
22 Aug. 2025
Verb
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In April, an E-6B aircraft simulated the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile using the ALCS.—
Ryan Chan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
22 Aug. 2025
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Vermeulen is a prominent space systems researcher who commanded the first HI-SEAS (Hawaii Space Exploration Analog and Simulation) mission in 2013 — a four-month-long Mars habitat analog experiment that aimed to simulate life on a Mars base.—
Ian Stokes,
Space.com,
21 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 3 Sep. 2025.
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