Make Your Point > Archived Issues > DISSEMBLE
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Our word dissemble looks like it should mean disassemble, as in "to take apart:" "Don't bother disassembling that IKEA furniture before you move. Just throw it out. Trust me."
But dissemble actually means "to lie." "Oh, you think this IKEA dresser will just take a few minutes to put together? I think you're dissembling."
What gives?
The "dis-" inside dissemble doesn't mean "not" or "apart" like you might guess. Instead, it's an intensifier: it means "completely." And the "-semble" inside dissemble doesn't exactly mean "put together;" instead, it means "make alike."
So to dissemble, literally speaking, is to "completely make alike," to "completely imitate," as in, to disguise your real thoughts and make them seem to match up with what you're saying. To lie. "She was dissembling about the dresser. It took three sweaty hours to slap it together."
To fill in the whole story here, let's look, too, at assemble and disassemble.
Assemble literally means "to make alike." When you assemble things--etymologically speaking--you unite them, put them together, gather them into one single entity. And then, disassemble literally means "to not make alike," or "to make unalike," as in, "to take a single entity and break it into (unalike) parts."
Welcome to the bizarro world of etymology, where dissemble and disassemble are opposites.
All these words in bold trace back to the Latin simulare, "to make alike," along with words like similar, simile, simulate, resemble, assimilate, v___simil___de ("apparent realness or apparent truth") and simu____um ("a copy, an imitation, or a fake version of something").
Can you recall those last two?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
make your point with...
"DISSEMBLE"
The roots inside this word literally mean "to completely imitate," or more abstractly, "to conceal, to disguise."
To dissemble is to lie, usually because you're hiding your true thoughts or intentions.
Pronunciation:
diss EM bull
Part of speech:
Verb, usually the intransitive kind: "he dissembles all the time," "she got caught dissembling."
Other forms worth knowing:
dissembled, dissembling, dissembler(s), dissemblance
How to use it:
Pick this formal but common word for talking about anyone--but especially a public figure--who's a liar, liar, pants on fire.
Talk about people dissembling, often in response to some question that they don't want to answer. "Even in court, he kept dissembling." "She jeered, boasted, and dissembled in front of the crowd." "Faced with the evidence of their lies, they went right on dissembling, as if it were the only thing they knew how to do."
examples:
"Looking at the tape of her statement, it is remarkable how smoothly she dissembles."
— Michael Gerson, Washington Post, 18 April 2019
"It is a strange thing that even the strongest and frankest natures often have the gift of dissembling when confronted with danger or necessity."
— James Barnes, "For King or Country," Harper's Round Table, 1896
has this page helped you understand "dissemble"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "dissemble" without saying "feign" or "pretend."
try it out:
In Philip Pullman's series His Dark Materials, the character Lyra Belacqua is known as a talented dissembler. She lies her way out of anything, and even becomes known later as Lyra Silvertongue. Come to think of it, her first name sounds like Liar.
Reflecting on Lyra's dissembling, the narrator says, "Being a practiced liar doesn't mean you have a powerful imagination. Many good liars have no imagination at all; it's that which gives their lies such wide-eyed conviction."
Talk about another character from fiction, or a person in real life, with a reputation for dissembling. Does this person rely mainly on imagination or on "wide-eyed conviction" to dissemble so skillfully?
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month: Anagrams!
Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. Try to recall its meaning, too.
For example, if I give you DYED, you give me EDDY. If I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. And if I give you COTERIES, you give me ESOTERIC.
Try this one today: PERMUTATION.
Give yourself 5 points if you can figure out the word without clues. To reveal the clues, hover over the blue text below.
Give yourself 4 points if you figure it out after peeking at the part of speech: adjective.
Give yourself 3 points if you figure it out after peeking at the definition: annoying because they demand your attention and bother you, especially by making urgent requests.
Give yourself 2 points if you figure it out after peeking at the first letter: I (as in "igloo").
Give yourself 1 point if you figure it out after peeking at the first two letters: IM.
And if you'd like to reveal or review the word, click here.
review this word:
1. A near opposite of DISSEMBLING is
A. STARK.
B. CANDID.
C. UNITING.
2. Alex Holmes, who directs documentaries, told the Los Angeles Times: "If you let the interview run long enough, then people just stop being able to dissemble and they start telling you _____."
A. what to do
B. what they really think
C. what they think you want to hear
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Our word dissemble looks like it should mean disassemble, as in "to take apart:" "Don't bother disassembling that IKEA furniture before you move. Just throw it out. Trust me."
"DISSEMBLE" The roots inside this word literally mean "to completely imitate," or more abstractly, "to conceal, to disguise."
"Looking at the tape of her statement, it is remarkable how smoothly she dissembles."
Explain the meaning of "dissemble" without saying "feign" or "pretend."
In Philip Pullman's series His Dark Materials, the character Lyra Belacqua is known as a talented dissembler. She lies her way out of anything, and even becomes known later as Lyra Silvertongue. Come to think of it, her first name sounds like Liar.
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. A near opposite of DISSEMBLING is
|