insincere
Someone who's insincere is a little bit fake or phony. Your classmate's insincere apology for interrupting you probably sounds like she doesn't really mean it.
When you're insincere, you're not being completely honest. A losing politician often gives an insincere-sounding concession speech, and a teacher who's having a terrible day might wear an insincere smile on her face. The adjective sincere, "coming from genuine, honest feelings," is at the root of insincere — the Latin prefix in, or "not," is combined with sincerus, "sound, pure, or whole."
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lacking sincerity“a charming but thoroughly insincere woman”“their praise was extravagant and insincere”
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Synonyms:
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counterfeit, imitative
not genuine; imitating something superior
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dishonest, dishonorable
deceptive or fraudulent; disposed to cheat or defraud or deceive
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artful, disingenuous
not straightforward or candid; giving a false appearance of frankness
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unreal
lacking in reality or substance or genuineness; not corresponding to acknowledged facts or criteria
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bootlicking, fawning, obsequious, sycophantic, toadyish
attempting to win favor from influential people by flattery
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buttery, fulsome, oily, oleaginous, smarmy, soapy, unctuous
unpleasantly and excessively suave or ingratiating in manner or speech
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dissimulative
concealing under a false appearance with the intent to deceive
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false
deliberately deceptive
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feigned
not genuine
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gilded, meretricious, specious
based on pretense; deceptively pleasing
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hypocritical
professing feelings or virtues one does not have
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plausible
given to or characterized by presenting specious arguments
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false
not in accordance with the fact or reality or actuality
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Antonyms:
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sincere
open and genuine; not deceitful
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echt, genuine
not fake or counterfeit
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honest, honorable
not disposed to cheat or defraud; not deceptive or fraudulent
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artless, ingenuous
characterized by an inability to mask your feelings; not devious
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existent, real
being or occurring in fact or actuality; having verified existence; not illusory
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bona fide
undertaken in good faith
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cordial
sincerely or intensely felt
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dear, devout, earnest, heartfelt
earnest
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honest
without dissimulation; frank
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genuine, true, unfeigned
not pretended; sincerely felt or expressed
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heart-whole, whole-souled, wholehearted
with unconditional and enthusiastic devotion
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true
consistent with fact or reality; not false
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counterfeit, imitative
Vocabulary lists containing insincere
Eleven-year-old Eddie enters a poetry contest and wins the grand prize — a trip to New York City to see the NBA finals and a chance to take a foul shot worth a million dollars.
Katsa was "graced" with a special power to kill people, but instead of using her power to serve the ill will of her uncle, King Randa, she decides to learn how to use her powers for good.
On the ACT Reading Test, you will almost certainly encounter questions that ask about an author's tone — that is, the author's attitude toward their subject matter. Master our comprehensive collection of common words used to describe an author's tone, and you'll be well prepared to tackle these questions.
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