disingenuously

English

Etymology

From disingenuous +‎ -ly.

Pronunciation

• (UK, US) IPA^(key): /ˌdɪs.ɪnˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.əs.li/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

Adverb

disingenuously (comparative more disingenuously, superlative most disingenuously)

1. In a manner that is not frank or open; deceptively.
   • 1874, Governor Musgrave, “Capital: Mr. Mill's Fundamental Propositions”, in The Contemporary Review, 24: 745:

     Instead of inquiring why the facts oppose the theory, and where the explanation is to be found for this remarkable discrepancy, he disingenuously endeavours to give reasons for "the causes which operated, and do commonly operate, to prevent these extraordinary drafts on the productive resources of the country from being so much felt as it might seem reasonable to expect."

2. In an unnoble manner; in a manner unbecoming of true honor or dignity; unworthily.
   • 2009, Michael L. Stapleton, Spenser's Ovidian Poetics, page 98:

     The letter's false intent trumps any truths within, which one would expect of a woman who disingenuously calls herself Fidessa.

3. In a manner that adopts a pose of naïveté, possibly to make a point or to deceive.
   • 2005, John Steele Gordon, An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power, page 352:

     Churchill, a month later, would memorably if disingenuously describe Lend-Lease as a matter of "Give us the tools and we will finish the job." Roosevelt, a few days earlier, had described it a bit more prosaically, but no less disingenuously, as the equivalent of lending a neighbor whose house was on fire a garden hose, expecting to get it back when the fire was out.

Synonyms

• (in a manner that is not frank or open): deceitfully, deceptively
• (in an unnoble manner): ignobly, unworthily

Antonyms

• (antonym(s) of “in a manner that is not frank or open”): candidly, frankly, openly
• (antonym(s) of “in an unnoble manner”): nobly, worthily

Related terms

• disingenuous
• disingenuousness

Translations

in a manner that is not frank or open; deceptively

• German: unredlicherweise, verschlagen (de), hinterlistigerweise, unehrlicherweise
• Macedonian: неискрено (neiskreno)
• Slovak: pokrytecky, neúprimne

in an unnoble manner; in a manner unbecoming of true honor or dignity; unworthily

• German: unwürdig (de)
• Slovak: nečestne

in a manner that adopts a pose of naivete, possibly to make a point or to deceive

• Slovak: pokrytecky, neúprimne