disingenuous
dis-in-JEN-yoo-uss
/ˌdɪs.ɪnˈdʒen.ju.əs/
Not candid or sincere; pretending to know less or feel differently than one really does.
Often describes someone feigning ignorance or naive innocence to gain a tactical advantage.
The story behind the word. In Roman law, an ingenuus was a free-born person of noble character, expected to speak openly and frankly. Adding dis- created a word for someone lacking that noble candor—someone pretending to be open while secretly scheming.
Word relationships
- hypocritical: Hypocritical involves preaching virtues one does not practice, whereas disingenuous involves pretending to be naive or unaware.
- insincere: Insincere means lacking genuine feeling, while disingenuous specifically implies false innocence or feigned ignorance.
- ingenuous: Ingenuous means innocent, candid, and lacking guile.
- sincere: Sincere means free from pretense or deceit.
Commonly confused with
- ingenious: Ingenious means clever and inventive, whereas disingenuous means insincere or falsely naive.
Word family
- disingenuously (adverb): In a disingenuous or insincere manner.
- disingenuousness (noun): The quality of being disingenuous.
Collocations
- disingenuous argument
- disingenuous claim
- disingenuous apology
Idioms & expressions
- play dumb
- shed crocodile tears
Example sentences
- "It is disingenuous to claim that financial contributions play no role in political decision-making." Debating campaign finance
Memory hook
DIS (NOT) + INGENUOUS (innocent/honest) = NOT truly innocent, just pretending. Pretending not to know.
When not to use
Do not confuse with unintelligent; disingenuous people are calculatedly dishonest.
Fun facts
- 'Ingenuous' and 'ingenious' look almost identical, but ingenuous relates to candid honesty while ingenious relates to brilliant cleverness.
Related words
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