disingenuous

Meaning

1. 1adjectivenot comparabledisapproving

   Not fully sincere or candid, especially while pretending to be innocent or less informed than one is.

   Grammar: Often used with of, to-infinitive, or that-clauses rather than simple gradation.

   Patterns

   • be disingenuous of someone
   • it is disingenuous to claim
   • be disingenuous to suggest or say

   It was disingenuous of him to claim he had never seen the contract.

   She gave a disingenuous answer that avoided the real issue.

   The article called the apology carefully calculated and disingenuous.

Common combinations

disingenuous claim

The disingenuous claim ignored data published by the same office.

sound disingenuous

His apology sounded disingenuous because he smiled while making it.

disingenuous attempt

The statement was a disingenuous attempt to shift responsibility.

disingenuous question

A disingenuous question can hide an accusation inside polite wording.

Synonyms and how they differ

insincere

Broader and more direct; disingenuous often involves fake innocence or selective honesty.

calculating

Emphasizes cold planning for advantage, not necessarily pretending not to know.

deceitful

Stronger and more openly dishonest; disingenuous can stop short of an outright lie.

hypocritical

Focuses on contradicting one's own stated morals, while disingenuous concerns manipulated candor.

Opposites

Word family

ingenuous adjective

Rare and almost opposite: innocent, open, and without deceit.

disingenuously adverb

In a way that hides true knowledge or motive.

disingenuity noun

Rare noun for lack of candor.

Commonly confused: disingenuous or ingenious? disingenuous or ingenuous?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “disingenuous”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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