dissembling, feigning, pretense, pretence - pretending with intention to deceive

crocodile tears - a hypocritical display of sorrow; false or insincere weeping; "the secretaries wept crocodile tears over the manager's dilemma"; "politicians shed crocodile tears over the plight of the unemployed"

insincerity, falseness - the quality of not being open or truthful; deceitful or hypocritical

sanctimoniousness, sanctimony - the quality of being hypocritically devout

smarminess, unctuousness, unction, fulsomeness, oiliness, oleaginousness - smug self-serving earnestness