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to dissimulate

to dissimulate

1 9.5
To hide your true feelings or plans with a false expression
  • verb
  • /ˌdɪsɪˈmjuːleɪt/
translation icon : disimular
  • She had to dissimulate her fear during the interview to appear confident.

Some people are forced into conditions where they have to dissimulate.

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Examples

  • Moreover, the father's theatrical way of handing Eveline money for household provisions each Saturday night serves precisely to dissimulate the fact that the money (like his name) comes from his children.

    Academic text (2016)
  • "To dissimulate is to pretend not to have what one has," he wrote.

    Academic text (2007)
  • To dissimulate the U.S. involvement will be clearly impossible.

    Academic text (2003)
  • And there's all different ways in which we simulate or dissimulate things that we don't actually think or feel.

  • As a result, he occasionally engaged in rather inept attempts to dissimulate his strategy in a haze of geopolitical double-talk.

    Academic text (1993)
  • He tried to dissimulate his true feelings when he saw her again.

  • In order to blend in, he learned to dissimulate his interest in the conversation.

Synonyms

to hide
vsto dissimulate
1.0

To keep something so others cannot see or understand it

involves using a false outward display to keep inner feelings unknown
to cover up
vsto dissimulate
314 3.7

To hide something so people cannot see or find out about it

applies more to personal feelings disguised under an outward show
to conceal
vsto dissimulate
282 3.7

To hide something so others cannot see or find it

adds a false outward appearance to secret-keeping, focusing on motives
to feign
vsto dissimulate
40 7.2

Pretend to feel something, like surprise or interest, to trick other people

focuses more on outward acting to mislead rather than mere secrecy
to veil
vsto dissimulate
24 5.0

To cover something so others cannot easily see or understand it

in this context it means masking inner feelings through behaviour
to submerge
vsto dissimulate
15 4.6

To cover completely so it cannot be seen, often by water or strong feeling

focuses on keeping inner motives unnoticed beneath a false behaviour
to dissemble
vsto dissimulate
9 9.1

To hide true feelings or intentions by pretending to feel something else

is the deliberate act of masking inner intentions rather than simple secrecy
to prevaricate
vsto dissimulate
  • Formal
3 9.1

To avoid giving a direct answer to hide the truth

differs by using outward false behaviour rather than evasive speech
to becloak one's feelings
vsto dissimulate
  • Archaic
9.9

To hide your feelings so other people cannot see them

is similar but often implies formal or literary phrasing for that act
to hide someone's excitement
vsto dissimulate
5.0

To try not to show that you are very happy in front of other people

is broader, applying to hiding all inner feelings or intentions

Antonyms

84 7.4

Make hidden truth known by a god or spirit

How Deceptive

to fabricate
50 7.3
to feign
40 7.2
to dissimulate
1 9.5
to conceal
282 3.7
to reveal
2.3

Surface Forms

dissimulate infinitive
dissimulated past participle
dissimulating present participle
dissimulates third person singular

Morphology

dissimulate = simulate (semi-transparent) = dis + simulate

The form shows a clear prefixation (dis- + simulate), but the meaning 'to conceal' is not directly predictable from 'not simulate' and represents a historical sense divergence that may confuse learners.

Etymology

The word dissimulate comes from the parts dis- (meaning 'not' or 'away') and simulare (meaning 'to pretend'), the same root as simulate. So to dissimulate is to 'pretend' in a way that hides your true feelings or plans, like putting on a mask to cover what you really think.