Lesson 2 Honesty and Deception

1. belie Verb a. To picture falsely; misrepresent; disguise. b. To show to be false; contradict. c. To disappoint or leave unfilled . Ex: The new teacher’s strictness belied her usual easygoing nature.

2. clandestine Adj. Concealed or kept secret, often for unlawful purposes. Related Words: clandestinely (adv) Ex: The cheaters clandestinely met in order to hide their affair from their spouses.

3. collusion Noun- a secret agreement between two or more persons for a deceitful or fraudulent purpose; conspiracy. Related Word: collude (verb) Ex: Winters was found guilty of espionage and collusion with the enemy.

4. dissemble Verb a. to disguise or conceal behind a false appearance. b. to make a false show of; feign. c. to conceal one’s true motives, natures, or feelings under pretense. Related Word: dissemblance Example: Unable to dissemble her annoyance, Beth’s dislike of her roomate was apparent to all.

5. nefarious Adj a. extremely wicked or infamous; evil; villanous. Related Words: nefariously (adv); nefariousness (noun). During the sixteenth centuries; nefarious pirates kidnapped travelers and sold them as slaves.

6. perfidious Adj.- disloyal; treacherous. Related Words: perfidiously (adv); perfidy (noun) In putting his ambitions before his devotion to Duncan, Macbeth proved to be a perfidious servant of his king.

7. probity Noun Complete and confirmed integrity; uprightness. Example: To assure that his probity would never be questioned, the president hired someone to handle his personal finances during his term in office.

8. scrupulous Adj a. acting in strict regard for what is considered right or proper; having principles. b. Very conscientious and exacting. Related Words: scruple (noun); scrupulously (adv); scrupulousness (noun) Ex: We expect our leaders to behave scrupulously, by always doing the right thing.

9. spurious Adj. a. Lacking authenticity or validity; false. b. Constituting a forgery. Related Words: spuriously (adv); spuriousness (noun) Example: Fred did not realize that he had been swindled until he attempted to cash the spurious check.

10. stratagem Noun- a. a clever scheme or trick designed to attain a goal. b. A maneuver designed to deceive or surprise an enemy. Example: Harley devised a stratagem to ensure Ahmed’s attendance at the surprise party.