accismus means the feigning of disinterest in something while actually desiring it. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
accismus is pronounced /ækˈsɪzməs/.
Why “accismus” is a great word
A rhetorical figure or behavior involving the feigned refusal or disinterest in something one actually desires, an unadapted borrowing from Latin accismus, from Ancient Greek ἀκκισμός (akkismós, 'prudery, affectation, coyness'). Unlike hypocrisy, a general pretense of virtue, or coyness, an instinctive or coquettish shyness, accismus is a tactical, often formalized pantomime of denial. It is the politician declining a nomination he worked to secure, the lover protesting while longing for the gift, or the guest refusing the last piece of cake to ensure it is offered again more forcefully—a social dance where the most graceful step is a calculated step backward, and the surest means of acquisition is the art of pretending not to want.
Etymology
Unadapted borrowing from Latin accismus, from Ancient Greek ακκισμός (akkismós, “prudery”).
noun
- The feigning of disinterest in something while actually desiring it.“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.”