Word: disingenuous (adjective)

Associations

"Disingenuous" means not being honest or sincere, often pretending to know less or care less than you actually do. It is used when someone is acting in a tricky or dishonest way, but not very openly.

• When a person says something that sounds innocent but actually hides their true feelings, they might be disingenuous. For example: "She was disingenuous when she said she didn’t care about the promotion."
• In politics, a politician might be disingenuous if they avoid answering a question directly to hide the truth.
• When a friend pretends to be happy for you but actually feels jealous, their behavior can be disingenuous.

A close synonym is "insincere," but "disingenuous" often implies a kind of cleverness or pretending, while "insincere" is more about simply not meaning what you say.

Substitution

You can use words like:

• insincere (less clever, more straightforwardly dishonest)
• dishonest (stronger, more direct)
• hypocritical (pretending to have beliefs or feelings one does not have)
• deceitful (more about lying or tricking)

Each substitution changes the meaning slightly. For example, "disingenuous" often suggests subtlety or pretending, while "dishonest" is more blunt.

Deconstruction

The word "disingenuous" comes from:

• prefix "dis-" meaning "not" or "opposite of"
• root "ingenuous" which means "honest" or "open" So, "disingenuous" literally means "not honest" or "not open."

"Ingenuous" itself comes from Latin "ingenuus," meaning "freeborn, honest."

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when someone was disingenuous with you? How did it make you feel?
• How is being disingenuous different from simply being mistaken or confused?
• Why might someone choose to be disingenuous instead of honest? What are the possible reasons?