Meaning & use
disingenuousness
Last updated
The quality of being insincere or not candid, often by pretending to know less than one actually does.
See it in a sentence
Critics accused the politician of disingenuousness when he claimed ignorance of the scandal.
There was a note of disingenuousness in her innocent-sounding question.
A note on using this word
Formed from 'disingenuous', itself from 'in-' (not) plus 'ingenuous' (frank, innocent).
Words with a similar meaning
insinceritydeceitfulness
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Words with an opposite meaning
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