insincere

UK/ˌɪns(ɪ)nˈsɪə/US/ˌɪns(ɪ)nˈsɪə/

adjectiveB2+Rare in speech; mostly a word you read · #11,847 of 15,258neutral

Insincere means saying warm things you do not feel. An insincere apology, insincere praise, sounded insincere.

It is the charge levelled at the words rather than the act — an insincere apology may say everything right and still fail, because what is missing is the feeling behind it. People detect it from timing and tone more than from wording. Note sincere; and that the Latin sincerus means pure or unmixed.

Definitions of insincere

1adjectiveinsincereSaying warm things you do not feel.B2+
“His praise sounded insincere, as if somebody had told him to say something nice.”
synonyms: hollow, false

insincere is a quality of falseness.

Where it comes from

Latin insincerus is in- plus sincerus, pure or whole. The popular story that sincere means without wax is not true.

Latin
insincerus
English, today
insincere

From Latin insincerus.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Moods & Relationships

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insincere in the wild

An insincere flatterer is a stock character in many literary works.
Flattery
"Hail fellow well met" is an English idiom used when referring to a person whose behavior is hearty, friendly, and congenial, typically in an excessive or insincere manner.
Hail fellow well met
Pseudo- is a prefix used in a number of languages, often to mark something as a fake or insincere version.
Pseudo-
Crocodile tears are false or insincere displays of emotion.
Crocodile Tears
For example, in a first-past-the-post election, a sincere voter would support the candidate they think is best, whereas an insincere voter may instead support a different candidate.
Insincere voting

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

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