Standard Lemma guide

disingenuous

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˌdɪ.sɪnˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.əs/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: D IH0 S IH0 N JH EH1 N Y UW0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Not honourable; unworthy of honour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Not ingenuous; not frank or open.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: uncandid

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Assuming a pose of naïveté to make a point or for deception.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness- David Cannadine

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • an ambitious, disingenuous, philistine, and hypocritical operator, who...exemplified...the most disagreeable traits of his time
  • a disingenuous excuse

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: artful

Antonyms: ingenuous

History

Etymology

Etymology tree Latin dis- Old French des-bor. Latin dis-bor. Middle English dis- English dis- English ingenuous English disingenuous From dis- + ingenuous.

Across languages

Translations

45 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: fals — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Catalan: hipòcrita — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Chinese Mandarin: 虛情假意的 /虚情假意的 (xūqíngjiǎyì de) — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Chinese Mandarin: 不誠實的 /不诚实的 (bù chéngshí de) — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Danish: uærlig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Danish: uoprigtig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Danish: falsk — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Danish: uvederhæftig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Dutch: oneerlijk — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Dutch: onwaardig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Dutch: onoprecht — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Dutch: achterbaks — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Esperanto: malsincera — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Finnish: petollinen — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Finnish: vilpillinen — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • French: sournois — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • French: malhonnête — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • German: unaufrichtig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • German: unehrlich — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • German: unwürdig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • German: hinterlistig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • German: verschlagen — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • German: unredlich — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • German: hinterhältig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Japanese: 不誠実な (fuseijitsu na) — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Macedonian: не́искрен (néiskren) — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Māori: kōpūrau — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Māori: kōpūngahuru — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uoppriktig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Norwegian Bokmål: uærlig — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Norwegian Bokmål: falsk — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Polish: niehonorowy — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Portuguese: falso — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Portuguese: vil — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Romanian: necinstit — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Russian: неи́скренний (neískrennij) — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Serbo-Croatian: нѐискрен — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Serbo-Croatian: nèiskren — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Slovak: nečestný — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Spanish: falso — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Spanish: poco sincero — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Spanish: desingenuo — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Spanish: insincero — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Swedish: lömsk — not noble; unbecoming true honor
  • Ottoman Turkish: ناموسسز (namussuz) — not noble; unbecoming true honor