Cambridge English: CPE (C2 Proficiency) - Deceitful Qualities & Roles

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artful

[Adjective]

(of speech or actions) disguising intentions or masking the truth

Ex: The company 's artful statements made the risks seem smaller than they were .

barefaced

[Adjective]

openly and shamelessly done, without trying to hide the truth or wrongdoing

Ex: The scam was so barefaced that people wondered how they thought it would succeed.

bogus

[Adjective]

false, fake, or not genuine

Ex: The email I received was bogus, pretending to be from my bank .

covert

[Adjective]

not displayed or acknowledged openly

Ex: The agent ’s covert actions were hidden from public view to ensure the mission ’s success .

disingenuous

[Adjective]

lacking sincerity and honesty, particularly by not revealing as much as one knows

Ex: She found his compliments to be disingenuous and insincere .

fallacious

[Adjective]

deliberately designed to mislead

Ex: The salesperson 's pitch relied on fallacious reasoning , using misleading statistics and exaggerated benefits to deceive customers into making a purchase .

glib

[Adjective]

persuasive in a way that is deceitful

Ex: The salesman 's glib pitch sounded rehearsed and untrustworthy .

Machiavellian

[Adjective]

using manipulation or deceit to achieve one's goals

mendacious

[Adjective]

(of a person) deliberately telling lies

Ex: The mendacious character in the novel constantly deceived everyone around him .

meretricious

[Adjective]

attractive in a showy or superficial way but lacking real value or sincerity

Ex: Their friendship turned out to be meretricious, built only on mutual advantage .

poseur

[noun]

a person who pretends to be what they are not to impress others

specious

[Adjective]

seemingly truthful but wrong in nature

Ex: The theory was popular , but experts found it to be specious upon closer examination .

wheedling

[noun]

the act of persuading someone by using flattery, charm, or gentle teasing

Ex: Through clever wheedling, he managed to get an invitation to the event .

insidious

[Adjective]

gradually causing harm without being obvious at first

spurious

[Adjective]

(of explanations or reasoning) sounding valid but being unsound actually

Ex: Their spurious justification masked the real motive .

factitious

[Adjective]

relating to something that is created artificially instead of naturally

Ex: He felt uncomfortable with the factitious behavior of his colleagues at the meeting .

furtive

[Adjective]

secretive in a sly or morally questionable way

Ex: The politician 's furtive actions damaged his reputation .

surreptitious

[Adjective]

done, made, or obtained in a secretive way, especially to avoid notice or disapproval

Ex: Their surreptitious negotiations eventually led to a deal .

a cat's paw

[phrase]

a person used by someone else to do unpleasant or risky tasks, often without realizing it

Ex: He was just a cat's paw for the boss's dirty work.

Cambridge English: CPE (C2 Proficiency)

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