dissemble

verb

di-ˈsem-bəl How to pronounce dissemble (audio)
Definition of dissemblenext
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of dissemble With his multi-instrumentalist bandmates, PJ Moore and co-songwriter Robert Bell, Buchanan zooms into these exchanges to prolong them or dissembles them into jagged pieces that leave the bigger picture to us. — Sam Sodomsky, Pitchfork, 1 Feb. 2026 Authorities were forced to dissemble the back deck in order to rescue some of the pups that were beneath, according to the Strong Island Animal Rescue League, who assisted with the efforts. — David Matthews, New York Daily News, 7 Aug. 2025 Building trust in companies and their leaders isn’t easy, given many decades of dissembling. — Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 6 July 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 See All Example Sentences for dissemble
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dissemble
  1. pretend
  2. assume
  3. simulate
Verb
  • Lee ingratiates himself by pretending to be interested in becoming a CO himself — attracted to the manliness and the glamor.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • In a news release, police said that 25-year-old Baldwin Park resident Juan Carlos Amaya contacted the teenage girl via Snapchat and began talking to her while pretending to be 17 years old.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of pretend
Verb
  • The film follows a Polish burglar who assumes the identity of a dead stranger’s girlfriend, with unexpected results.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 18 Oct. 2026
  • And, of course, anyone who remembers the optimistic hordes streaming up Michigan Avenue after Barack Obama made his victory speech for president of the United States in Grant Park well knows the local benefits of a Chicagoan assuming the presidency.
    — The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of assume
Verb
  • Its use during the exercise simulated an attack against an opposing naval force.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • Principled Technologies' WebXPRT 4 browser test uses HTML5, JavaScript, and WebAssembly workloads to simulate tasks ranging from photo enhancement and OCR scans to sales graphs and online homework.
    — Joe Osborne, PC Magazine, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of simulate

Browse Nearby Words

dissed
dissemble
dissembled
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Cite this Entry

“Dissemble.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dissemble. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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