dissemble

dis•sem•ble (dih-SEM-buhl)  v

Definition:
verb tr
1. to give a false or misleading appearance to; conceal the truth or real nature of
2. to put on the appearance of; feign
3. to let pass unnoticed; ignore (obsolete)
verb intr
4. to conceal one's true motives, thoughts, etc., by some pretense; speak or act hypocritically
dissembled past participle; dissembled past tense; dissemblng present participle; dissembles 3rd person singular present; dissembler noun; dissemblingly adverb

Origin:
early 15c; (implied in dissemblable), apparently a variant of M.E. dissimule (influenced by M.Fr. dessembler or English resemble), late 14c., from O.Fr. dissimuler, from L. dissimulare "make unlike, conceal, disguise," from dis- "completely" + simulare "pretend, assume, simulate" from stem of similis "like" from Old L. semol "together," from PIE base *sem-/*som- "same"

Related:
Synonyms: disguise, camouflage, cloak, conceal, counterfeit, dissimulate, falsify, feign, mask, shroud
Related Words: dissimulate, simulation, assemble, assimilate, semblance

Sentence Examples:
• Affection, respect; intimacy, confidence, no longer attached the pupils to their guides; we beheld them no longer as divinities, who could read the secrets of our hearts; we were less ashamed of committing faults, more afraid of being accused of them: we learned to dissemble, to rebel, to lie: all the vices common to our years began to corrupt our happy innocence, mingle with our sports, and embitter our amusements.  - The Confessions of Jean Jacques Rousseau


 • It is idle, it is disingenuous, to deny or to dissemble the early depravations of Christianity, its gradual but rapid departure from its primitive simplicity and purity, still more, from its spirit of universal love. - The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Edward Gibbon


Sources: Dictionary.com, Online Etymology

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