dissimulate
/dɪˈsɪmjʊˌleɪt/verb
dissimulate is spelled D-I-S-S-I-M-U-L-A-T-E: 11 letters. It appears about once in every 89 million words in written English, the 301,415th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, dissimulate means “To practise deception by concealment or omission, or by feigning a false appearance; to dissemble” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in dissimulate?
| Letters | 11: D-I-S-S-I-M-U-L-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 89 million words; the 301,415th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is dissimulate?
Dissimulate appears about once in every 89 million words in written English, the 301,415th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce dissimulate?
- /dɪˈsɪmjʊˌleɪt/
- /-jə-/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-dissimulate.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of dissimulate
- dissimulates present, singular, he/she/it
- dissimulating participle, present
- dissimulated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does dissimulate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To practise deception by concealment or omission, or by feigning a false appearance; to dissemble.
- 2
To disguise or hide by adopting a false appearance; to dissemble.
- 3
rareTo connive at; to wink at; to pretend not to notice.
That al thyng be forgiven to theim that be olde and broken, and to theim that be yonge and lusty to dissimulate for a time, and nothyng to be forgiuen to very yong children.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteFeigned, simulated, pretended, false.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Dissimulate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to deceive by concealment or omission:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | sich verstellen |
| Spanish | disimular, tapiñar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does dissimulate come from?
Inherited from Middle English dissimulaten, dissimilaten, from Latin dissimulātus + -en (“verb-forming suffix”), perfect passive participle of dissimulō (“to conceal, to pretend, to neglect”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from dissimilis (“unlike”) + -ō (verb-forming suffix). Compare the obsolete dissimule (“to conceal, disguise”), from Old French dissimuler (French dissimuler), ultimately from the same Latin root. Doublet of dissemble, dissimilate, and dissimule.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).