disingenuous
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dis·in·gen·u·ous
(dĭs′ĭn-jĕn′yo͞o-əs)adj.
1. Not straightforward or candid; insincere or calculating: "Increasingly, the question of immigration has become a disingenuous stalking-horse for race and racial hostility" (Tyler Stovall).
2. Pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated; faux-naïf.
3. Usage Problem Unaware or uninformed; naive.
dis′in·gen′u·ous·ly adv.
dis′in·gen′u·ous·ness n.
Usage Note: Disingenuous means "not ingenuous," that is, not innocent, naive, or guileless. As such it can refer to someone who is insincere or calculating, as in It is both insensitive and disingenuous for the White House to describe its aid package and the proposal to eliminate the federal payment as "tough love," or to someone who is pretending to be unsophisticated, as in "I don't have a clue about late Beethoven!" he said. The remark seemed disingenuous, coming from one of the world's foremost concert pianists. Both of these examples were accepted by 90 percent of the Usage Panel in our 2016 survey. As with many words containing prefixes that negate (dis-) or seem to negate (in-), speakers sometimes lose track of exactly what is being negated, and sometimes use disingenuous when ingenuous would be more appropriate, namely as a synonym for naive. This usage is considered an error by careful writers: in our 2016 survey, 87 percent of the Usage Panel disapproved of the phrase the disingenuous tourist who falls prey to stereotypical con artists.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
disingenuous
(ˌdɪsɪnˈdʒɛnjʊəs)adj
not sincere; lacking candour
ˌdisinˈgenuously adv
ˌdisinˈgenuousness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014
dis•in•gen•u•ous
(ˌdɪs ɪnˈdʒɛn yu əs)adj.
lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; insincere.
[1645–55]
dis`in•gen′u•ous•ly, adv.
dis`in•gen′u•ous•ness, n.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
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Adj. | 1. | disingenuous - not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness; "an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time"- David Cannadine; "a disingenuous excuse" insincere - lacking sincerity; "a charming but thoroughly insincere woman"; "their praise was extravagant and insincere" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
disingenuous
adjective dishonest, cunning, sly, designing, wily, insidious, feigned, artful, two-faced, shifty, deceitful, insincere, duplicitous, underhanded, guileful, uncandid his disingenuous claims of innocence
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002
disingenuous
adjective1. Not being what one purports to be:
2. Marked by treachery or deceit:
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
insidema
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005
disingenuous
[ˌdɪsɪnˈdʒɛnjuəs] adj [person] → peu sincère; [remark, claim] → peu sincèreit is disingenuous to do ... → ce n'est pas sincère de faire ...
it is disingenuous of sb to do ... → ce n'est pas sincère de la part de qn de faire ...
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005
disingenuous
adj → unaufrichtig
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007
disingenuous
[ˌdɪsɪnˈdʒɛnjʊəs] adj → insincero/aCollins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995