insincere

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˌɪnsɪnˈsɪr/ UK /ˌɪnsɪnˈsɪə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
not expressing genuine feelings; hypocritical

His insincere apology fooled no one at the table.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · not expressing genuine... hypocritical disingenuous false deceitfultwo-facedfeigned

Opposites

sincere genuine honest heartfelt

Word family

Derived forms insincerelyinsincerity

Related forms sincere sincerity

Etymology

From in- ('not') + sincere, from Latin sincerus ('whole, pure, genuine'), of uncertain origin, perhaps 'of one growth, unmixed'.

in- Latin sincerus Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# insincere

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˌɪnsɪnˈsɪr/
**IPA (UK):** /ˌɪnsɪnˈsɪə/

## Meanings
1. not expressing genuine feelings; hypocritical

## Examples
- His insincere apology fooled no one at the table.

## Synonyms
- hypocritical
- disingenuous
- false
- deceitful
- two-faced
- feigned

## Antonyms
- sincere
- genuine
- honest
- heartfelt

## Derived Forms
- insincerely
- insincerity

## Related Forms
- sincere
- sincerity

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: in-
- Root: sincerus

## Etymology
From in- ('not') + sincere, from Latin sincerus ('whole, pure, genuine'), of uncertain origin, perhaps 'of one growth, unmixed'.

## AI Etymology
insincere comes from in- ('not') + sincere, from Latin sincerus ('whole, pure, genuine'), of uncertain origin, perhaps 'of one growth, unmixed'. Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. The etymology remains cautious where the history is cautious: comparisons, echoic formation, or disputed derivation do not make the ancestry more definite than the forms actually named. In present English, the adjective sense is "not expressing genuine feelings; hypocritical", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as sincere and sincerity, and in derivatives such as insincerely and insincerity. Its semantic neighborhood includes hypocritical, disingenuous, false, and deceitful, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin in- and Latin sincerus.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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