Disingenuous Meaning and Usage

........................................................................................................................................................................

Disingenuous Meaning:

Adjective:

- insincere or calculating; Not straightforward
- pretending to be unaware or unsophisticated;
- giving a false appearance of frankness

"a disingenuous excuse"

........................................................................................................................................................................

Derivatives:

disingenuously - adverb.
disingenuousness - noun.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Disingenuous Synonyms:
ambidextrous, artful, artless, calculating, clever, contriving: crafty, cunning, deceitful, designing, devious, dishonest, duplicitous, false, foxy, guileful, hypocritical, indirect, ingenuous, insidious, insincere, lubricious, mala fide, plotting, scheming, shifty, slick, sly, sneaky, tricky, underhanded, wily.

Disingenuous Antonyms:
frank, honest, ingenuous, naive, sincere

........................................................................................................................................................................

Use Disingenuous in a sentence:

1. He always gives a quick, disingenuous response; you never get a straight answer.

2. Do you believe Mark when he says he wants to save the company or do you think saying so is a disingenuous ploy to garner support for his bid for the presidency?

3. It was disingenuous of John borrow Mary's truck without telling her he would be driving it over uncharted mountain terrain.

4. Harry tried to smile at his friend and teacher, looking up at him so disingenuously.

5. “The game of politics calls for a certain amount of disingenuousness and lack of forthrightness that we might otherwise characterize as dishonesty.”

6. The invitation to come to their country estate seemed disingenuous so she did not seriously consider it.

7. This, I know, sounds disingenuous, but it's true, this was a book not written to be published.

8. The same question, repeatedly asked, was invariably met with disingenuous answers.

9. "I swear I'll be back with the money," the customer assured the cashier with a disingenuous expression.

........................................................................................................................................................................

Usage Note:

The meaning of disingenuous has been shifting about lately, as if people were unsure of its proper meaning.

Generally, it means "insincere" and often seems to be a synonym of cynical or calculating. Not surprisingly, the word is used often in political contexts, as in It is both insensitive and disingenuous for the White House to describe its aid package and the proposal to eliminate the federal payment as "tough love."

This use of the word is accepted by 94 percent of the Usage Panel. Most Panelists also accept the extended meaning relating to less reproachable behavior. Fully 88 percent accept disingenuous with the meaning "playfully insincere, faux-naïf," as in the example "I don't have a clue about late Beethoven!" he said. The remark seemed disingenuous, coming from one of the world's foremost concert pianists.

Sometimes disingenuous is used as a synonym for naive, as if the dis- prefix functioned as an intensive (as it does in certain words like disannul) rather than as a negative element. This usage does not find much admiration among Panelists, however. Seventy-five percent do not accept it in the phrase a disingenuous tourist who falls prey to stereotypical con artists.


disingenuous. (n.d.). The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Retrieved August 27, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/disingenuous

........................................................................................................................................................................

Some more examples:

1. It would be disingenuous to imply that such funds would solve the problem in education.

2. It is disingenuous to ask for advice when what you want is assistance.

3. The director used a disingenuous remark to make his point to the student.

4. "It was disingenuous of her to claim she had no financial interest in the case."

5. Her excuse was rather disingenuous.

........................................................................................................................................................................