deal with insincerely; pretend to be friendly
Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma
Meanings
1 sense · 3 examplesverb
to deal with someone with false pretenses and perfunctory social niceties; to pretend to be friendly or sociable while actually being insincere
formalOriginally from Zhuangzi. Describes maintaining superficial social relations without genuine feeling, often out of politeness, necessity, or to hide one's true intentions. The term '委蛇' (wēi yí) itself means 'winding, indirect' or 'perfunctory'.
Tā他
suī虽
rán然
bù不
xǐ喜
huan欢
nà那
xiē些
xū虚
wěi伪
de的
yìng应
chou酬
，
dàn但
wèi为
le了
shēng生
yì意
，
bù不
dé得
bù不
xū虚
yǔ与
wēi委
yí蛇
。
Although he disliked those hypocritical social engagements, he had to deal with them insincerely for the sake of business.
Miàn面
duì对
dí敌
rén人
de的
yòu诱
xiáng降
，
tā他
xū虚
yǔ与
wēi委
yí蛇
，
àn暗
zhōng中
què却
jiā加
jǐn紧
zhǔn准
bèi备
tū突
wéi围
。
Faced with the enemy's temptation to surrender, he pretended to go along with it while secretly preparing to break out.
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Tā她
duì对
nà那
xiē些
qū趋
yán炎
fù附
shì势
de的
rén人
xiàng向
lái来
zhǐ只
shì是
xū虚
yǔ与
wēi委
yí蛇
，
cóng从
bù不
shēn深
jiāo交
。
She has always only maintained superficial relations with those who seek connections with the powerful, never befriending them deeply.