Did you know?

Click any word in a definition or example to find the entry for that word

Words used to describe people or behaviour that is not sincere

insincere

adjective

not expressing your feelings or opinions honestly

forced

adjective

not sincere or natural

sugary

adjective

sugary talk or behaviour is intended to please people but is not sincere

affected

adjective

affected behaviour is not natural but is done to impress other people

artificial

adjective

artificial behaviour is not sincere

hollow

adjective

hollow promises or threats are not sincere, or are about things that will not really happen

disingenuous

adjective

not really honest or sincere, and only pretending to be

pretentious

adjective

behaving in a way that is intended to impress other people but seems false or too deliberate

studied

adjective

studied behaviour is planned and deliberate, so that it often seems false

false

adjective

not showing what you really feel or intend

vocal fry

a speech habit in which a speaker lowers their voice at the end of a sentence

BuzzWord Article

Word of the Day Word of the Day

dray

a type of cart pulled by a horse and used in the past for carrying barrels of beer

Open Dictionary

conflict mineral

a mineral which is mined in a place where there is armed conflict, and sold to help pay for weapons

add a word

Blog

A must for anyone with an interest in the changing face of language. The Macmillan Dictionary blog explores English as it is spoken around the world today.

global English and language change from our blog