disingenuous

adjective

dis·​in·​gen·​u·​ous ˌdis-in-ˈjen-yə-wəs 

-yü-əs

: lacking in candor

also : giving a false appearance of simple frankness : calculating

disingenuously adverb

disingenuousness noun

Did you know?

A disingenuous remark might contain some superficial truth, but it is delivered with the intent to deceive or to serve some hidden purpose. Its base word ingenuous (derived from a Latin adjective meaning "native" or "freeborn") can describe someone who, like a child, is innocent or lacking guile or craftiness. English speakers began frequently joining the negative prefix dis- with ingenuous to create disingenuous during the 17th century.

Examples of disingenuous in a Sentence

"It's had nine murders since 1937—about the same as you would get in many small towns." This was correct, but a wee disingenuous. The AT [Appalachian Trail] had no murders in its first thirty-six years and nine in the past twenty-two. —Bill Bryson, A Walk in the Woods, 1999

… and he egged Badger on, asking a disingenuous question about the antivivisection rally in Cleveland, and as Badger took the thought up and chewed it over, the Doctor made as if to excuse himself. —T. Coraghessan Boyle, The Road to Wellville, 1993

… he has a disingenuous way of resorting to slang when he wants to make a big point but is afraid of sounding pretentious. —Karen Schoemer, New York Times Book Review, 31 Oct. 1993

Unity is at best an ideal, at worst a disingenuous political slogan. —Salman Rushdie, The Independent on Sunday, 25 Nov. 1990

Her recent expressions of concern are self-serving and disingenuous.

Recent Examples on the Web

Cotton is being predictably disingenuous, but Democrats now can only hope that slightly more reasonable Republican senators than Cotton will not fall for this logic. —Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024

As sustainability initiatives grow in scale, companies are increasingly aware of the need to avoid greenwashing—where their efforts appear disingenuous or purely for marketing purposes. —Judith Magyar, Forbes, 24 Oct. 2024

Led by former president Donald Trump, right-wing news feeds lit up with out-of-context video clips, memes, and calls for Walz to be disqualified from running, as Trump, who opposes any sort of gun control laws, launched a disingenuous attack on the Democratic vice presidential candidate. —David Gilbert, WIRED, 2 Oct. 2024

Customers want to engage with real people, and AI-heavy content can come across as disingenuous. —Expert Panel®, Forbes, 20 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

dis- + ingenuous entry 1

First Known Use

1655, in the meaning defined above

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