disingenuousness
/,disin'dʤenjuəsnis/
Học thuậtThân thiện
A politician's disingenuousness was evident in his carefully worded statement.
Definition
- Noun:
- The quality of being disingenuous: The state or characteristic of not being straightforward or honest; a lack of sincerity and candor in one's actions or words.
- Lack of candor: The deliberate withholding of one's true feelings, opinions, or knowledge, often to create a false impression or to avoid directness.
Usage
- As a subject: is often difficult to detect in a casual conversation.
- As an object: I was disappointed by the politician's obvious during the interview.
- With a possessive: Her made it impossible to trust her promises.
Examples
- The salesman's was apparent when he claimed the used car had never had any problems.
- In diplomacy, a certain level of is sometimes expected, but outright lies are not tolerated.
- His apology was filled with such that it only made people angrier.
Advanced Usage
- "a veneer of disingenuousness": A superficial layer of insincerity.
- His charm was just a veneer of disingenuousness covering his ruthless ambition.
- "to detect/discem disingenuousness": To recognize a lack of honesty.
- A good journalist can often detect the disingenuousness in a prepared statement.
Variants and Related Words
- Disingenuous (adj): Not candid or sincere, typically by pretending that one knows less about something than one really does.
- It was disingenuous of her to say she hadn't been involved in the decision.
- Ingenuousness (n): The quality of being innocent, sincere, and candid. (This is the direct antonym of ).
- The child's ingenuousness was refreshing.
Synonyms
- Insincerity: The quality of not expressing genuine feelings.
- Dishonesty: Deceitfulness shown in someone's character or behavior.
- Duplicity: Deceitfulness; double-dealing.
- Guile: Sly or cunning intelligence used to deceive.
Antonyms
- Candor: The quality of being open and honest in expression; frankness.
- Sincerity: The quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy.
- Frankness: The quality of being open, honest, and direct in speech or writing.
- Genuineness: The quality of being truly what something is said to be; authenticity.
Related Phrases and Idioms
- "With a disingenuous smile": Smiling in a way that is not sincere or honest.
- He agreed with a disingenuous smile, already planning to do the opposite.
- "An air of disingenuousness": A general impression or atmosphere of insincerity.
- The whole proposal was delivered with an air of disingenuousness that put the committee on edge.
A politician's disingenuousness was evident in his carefully worded statement.
Noun
- the quality of being disingenuous and lacking candor