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dissemble

dis·semble

UK/dɪˈsɛmbəl/ US/dɪˈsɛmbɫ̩/ uncommon

verb

1.

make believe with the intent to deceive

  • “He feigned that he was ill”
  • “He shammed a headache”
Synonyms
2.

hide under a false appearance

  • “He masked his disappointment”
Synonyms
3.

behave unnaturally or affectedly

  • “She”
Synonyms

Origin

First attested in the beginning of the 15th century, in Middle English; inherited from Middle English dissemblen, dissimblen, dissemelen, borrowed from Old French dessambler, dissembler, disembler, itself borrowed from Latin dissimulō and modified after sembler, semblance, etc. Doublet of dissimulate, dissimilate, and dissimule. Displaced native Old English mīþan.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.