accismus

Definition

The feigning of disinterest in something while actually desiring it.

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin accismus, from Ancient Greek ακκισμός (akkismós, “prudery”).

Example Sentences

• "On this account, mothers, fathers, men, and even youths, are their best companions; on the contrary, girls connected with other girls of a similar age, as in schools, provoke one another to an exchange of foibles, rather than of excellences, to a love of dress, admiration, and gossip, even to the forgetting of accismus."
• "The keen eye of the ancient comedians detected this weakness in Athenian demagogues who declined office with a view to making their election surer, and Philippides gave it the name accismus."

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