Dis·sem·bling a. That dissembles; hypocritical; false. -- Dis*sem*bling*ly, adv.
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Dis·sem·ble v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dissembled; p. pr. & vb. n. Dissembling ]
1. To hide under a false semblance or seeming; to feign (something) not to be what it really is; to put an untrue appearance upon; to disguise; to mask.
Dissemble all your griefs and discontents. --Shak.
Perhaps it was right to dissemble your love,
But -- why did you kick me down stairs? --J. P. Kemble.
2. To put on the semblance of; to make pretense of; to simulate; to feign.
He soon dissembled a sleep. --Tatler.
Syn: -- To conceal; disguise; cloak; cover; equivocate. See Conceal.
dissembling
adj : concealing under a false appearance with the intent to
deceive; "dissimulative arts" [syn: dissimulating, dissimulative]
n 1: pretending with intention to deceive [syn: pretense, pretence,
feigning]
2: the act of deceiving [syn: deception, deceit, dissimulation]