dissemblings
Acts of pretending
Dissemblings are acts of concealing one's true motives, feelings, or beliefs behind a false appearance.
The word carries a sense of calculated deception—not outright lying but strategic masking: His dissemblings fooled no one.
The singular dissembling works as both noun and adjective: a dissembling politician, tired of all the dissembling.
Sly, strategic dishonesty
- artificeClever deceptive strategy
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
- wilesDeceptive stratagems
craftiness · slyness · deviousness · subterfuge · ruses · stratagems · ploys · gambits
Pretending to feel something
- maskingConcealing by covering
- feintsMock offensive movements
- affectationsArtificial behaviors for show
- facadesMisleading external appearances
charades · posturing · play-acting · performances · acting · put-ons · fronts · disguises
Lack of genuine feeling
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- deceitfulnessDisposition to mislead
- two-facednessDeceitful pretense of friendship
- falsenessAbsence of truth
phoniness · disingenuousness · double-dealing · bad faith · sanctimoniousness · cant · lip service · empty promises
Deliberate untruths
- fabricationsInvented untrue statements
- liesDeliberate untruths
- pretextsOstensible justifications masking truth
- hoaxesIntentional public deceptions
fictions · frauds · shams · impostures · counterfeits · forgeries · duplicities · misrepresentations
guile
Sly, strategic dishonesty
- artificeClever deceptive strategy
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
wiles · craftiness · slyness · deviousness · subterfuge · ruses · stratagems · ploys · gambits · machinations
feigning
Pretending to feel something
- maskingConcealing by covering
- feintsMock offensive movements
- affectationsArtificial behaviors for show
facades · charades · posturing · play-acting · performances · acting · put-ons · fronts · disguises · masquerades
insincerity
Lack of genuine feeling
- duplicityDeliberate misleading behavior
- deceitfulnessDisposition to mislead
- two-facednessDeceitful pretense of friendship
falseness · phoniness · disingenuousness · double-dealing · bad faith · sanctimoniousness · cant · lip service · empty promises · betrayals
falsehoods
Deliberate untruths
- fabricationsInvented untrue statements
- liesDeliberate untruths
- pretextsOstensible justifications masking truth
hoaxes · fictions · frauds · shams · impostures · counterfeits · forgeries · duplicities · misrepresentations · falsifications
dissemblingscandor
Unguarded truthfulness
honesty · sincerity · truthfulness · frankness · authenticity
dissemblingsdirectness
Quality of being straightforward
bluntness · plainspokenness · straightforwardness · outspokenness · explicitness