disingenuous
- 1Not frank or sincere about what one really thinks, knows, or intends, often by feigning innocence or ignorance.
I'd be disingenuous if I told you I had no doubts about the deal.
The company's statement was disingenuous, omitting any mention of the earlier recall.
UsageOften it would be disingenuous (of me) to say or I'd be disingenuous if, used to admit something frankly.
Similarinsincere, dishonest, deceitful, duplicitous
Oppositesincere, frank, honest, candid
Note
In 1726 William Broome, who wrote the notes to Pope's translation of the Odyssey, said he was not so disingenuous as to deny that those notes had faults. The word still names a want of candor, and today it often describes a claim that is technically true but meant to mislead.
Less common meaning
- 2Not honorable, and not worthy of being held in honor.
Use it in a sentence
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Origin
Formed from the prefix dis- combined with ingenuous.