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dissemble
dih-SEM-buhl
- 01Understand
- 02Hear
- 03Distinguish
- 04See it used
- 05Choose how it lands
To conceal the truth through a misleading appearance or account.
It names the honest-sounding version of lying, where every sentence is true and the impression is false.
A lie states something untrue. To dissemble is to arrange true things so the other person reaches the wrong conclusion.
work“You don't have to dissemble. Tell them the launch slipped.”
argument“He never lied to the committee. He only had to dissemble about the dates.”
thought“The hardest part of the week was deciding not to dissemble.”
A journalist asks whether your team has already decided to close a service.
Meaning held still: Avoid confirming a decision that is not public, without leaving a false impression.
“I won't comment on decisions before they are announced.”
It lands as: Draws a visible boundary, so nothing printed can be blamed on your wording.
Tradeoff: A refusal reads as confirmation to a reader who wants it to.“There is no announcement today, and I am not going to hint at one.”
It lands as: Removes the space where an implication could live.
Tradeoff: Naming the hint you are refusing tells them there is something to hint at.“I could dissemble here and you'd write it up as a denial. I'd rather say I can't answer that yet.”
It lands as: Trades the manoeuvre for a plain limit, which is usually quoted more kindly.
Tradeoff: Admitting you considered a manoeuvre tells them the story is real.Restrained
- certainty
- a visible boundary, no comment before announcements, nothing printable blamed on wording
- exposure
- a refusal reads as confirmation to a reader who wants one
Direct
- distance
- removes the space where an implication could live, no announcement and no hints
- exposure
- naming the refused hint reveals there is something to hint at
Warm authority
- attribution
- trades the manoeuvre for a plain limit, usually quoted more kindly
- exposure
- admitting the considered manoeuvre confirms the story is real
“Answer with technically true sentences that steer them off: the service has strong usage, the team is committed, no closure is announced.”
Why it tempts: Every sentence survives fact-checking, and the impression buys the time the announcement needs.
Why it misses: This is dissembling by the textbook definition, and journalists collect textbook specimens: when the closure announces, the technically-true quotes run beside it as evidence of the runaround, the reporter's next piece is about the spin rather than the service, and every future statement from your team gets the archaeology treatment. The intention is to avoid confirming without leaving a false impression, because the false impression is the story that outlives the closure, and I can't answer that yet is the only sentence that ages well.
Watch for: Dissembling is not the same as staying silent. Refusing to answer is a boundary; dissembling builds a false picture.
First met in The Weight of an Empty Frame. Saving keeps that example with the word.