dissemblance
Hiding true feelings
Dissemblance is the act of concealing one's true feelings, motives, or character—putting on a false appearance.
The word is rare and literary, more likely encountered in older texts than contemporary speech: His cheerful manner was pure dissemblance, masking deep resentment.
It shares territory with dissimulation and pretense.
Deliberate misleading behavior
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- falsityState of being incorrect
misrepresentation · trickery · chicanery · fraud · artifice · imposture · dissimulation · feigning
Pretending to feel something
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- posturingInsincere behavior for effect
- facadeDeceptive outward appearance
- shamFraudulent imitation
charade · fakery · playacting · make-believe · masking · pretending · acting · put-on
Identity-concealing alteration
- guiseExternal manner shown
- personaAssumed public identity
- incognitoWith identity concealed
- maskFace-worn concealment
costume · alter-ego · impersonation · characterization · role-playing · cover · smokescreen · cloak
duplicity
Deliberate misleading behavior
- deceitDeliberate misleading of others
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
falsity · misrepresentation · trickery · chicanery · fraud · artifice · imposture · dissimulation · feigning · insincerity
feigning
Pretending to feel something
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- posturingInsincere behavior for effect
- facadeDeceptive outward appearance
sham · charade · fakery · playacting · make-believe · masking · pretending · acting · put-on · show
disguise
Identity-concealing alteration
mask · costume · alter-ego · impersonation · characterization · role-playing · cover · smokescreen · cloak
dissemblancecandor
Unguarded truthfulness
honesty · sincerity · forthrightness · truthfulness · openness
dissemblancesimilitude
Quality of being alike
resemblance · likeness · similarity · affinity · correspondence
assemble, assembly, resemble, assimilate, simulate, assembled, simulation, assembling, resemblance