What does dissimulate mean?
Dissimulate is a formal verb meaning to hide one's true feelings, motives, or character beneath a deliberately false appearance. Someone who dissimulates does not simply tell a lie about facts; they construct an outward persona at odds with their inner reality — smiling when resentful, appearing indifferent when ambitious. The word derives from the Latin dissimulare, formed from simulare ('to make like, to pretend'), the same root that gives us simulate. It entered English in the early sixteenth century and has remained a literary and elevated term ever since, appearing most often in discussions of politics, diplomacy, court intrigue, and psychology. Its close cousin is dissemble, with which it shares both ancestry and meaning; the two are often used interchangeably, though dissimulate emphasises concealing the truth rather than asserting a falsehood. To accuse someone of dissimulating is to suggest practiced, calculated insincerity — a charge far weightier than mere evasiveness.
verbTo conceal or disguise one's true feelings, thoughts, motives, or character through pretence or false appearance.
- To hide or disguise one's true feelings, intentions, or character under a false appearance.
"She dissimulated her disappointment behind a warm smile."
"He learned early to dissimulate his ambition, presenting himself as merely diligent."
"The diplomat's smile was an exercise in dissimulating her true opinion of the proposal."
Dissimulate and simulate come from the same Latin root — one means to pretend something exists, the other to hide that it doesn't.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dissimulate
Dissimulate comes from Latin dissimulare, meaning 'to conceal, disguise', formed from dis- ('apart, away') plus simulare ('to make like, to feign'), itself from similis ('like, similar'). The word passed into English via French dissimuler, first attested in English in the early sixteenth century. It shares its root not only with simulate and assimilate but also with simultaneous and similar, all tracing back to the Proto-Indo-European root *sem- ('one, together').
Related word forms
How dissimulate is actually used
Formal register; common in literary, historical, and political writing rather than everyday speech. It carries a connotation of deliberate, sustained deception rather than a momentary white lie.
Easily confused with dissimulate
Both mean to conceal true feelings, but dissemble can also mean to give a false impression of something (e.g. to dissemble innocence), while dissimulate focuses on hiding what is real.