disingenuous
Americanadjective
-
lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically ingenuous; insincere.
Her excuse was rather disingenuous.
adjective
-
not sincere; lacking candour
Other Word Forms
- disingenuously adverb
- disingenuousness noun
- nondisingenuous adjective
- nondisingenuously adverb
- nondisingenuousness noun
Etymology
Origin of disingenuous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
“But it would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn’t change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas. It does,” he added.
From Barron's • Mar. 12, 2026
That’s not to say that the movie doesn’t have plenty of fascinating industry insider details to grab onto, or that it’s at all disingenuous, only that it lacks focus.
From Salon • Feb. 8, 2026
“The biggest problem is the ability to deceive people or manipulate people because it looks real, it sounds real, it’s pretty disingenuous if you didn’t say it,” Church told me.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 14, 2025
The ultras fan group state: "The justification for the ban is disingenuous, similar to previous bans."
From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025
If I feel they have ulterior motives or are the slightest bit disingenuous, I try to shelter the kids from them.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.