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They just fake smiles to each other, practice hypocrisy or just pretend to be kind or polite. Is it idiomatic to call this interactions "putting on a phony show " or "acting to be kind" or something?

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  • can I use ingratiating?
    – MER
    Commented Dec 6, 2022 at 9:25
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    Have you looked it up in the dictionary? Does the definition you find suit your purpose?
    – Kate Bunting
    Commented Dec 6, 2022 at 10:45
  • NO， I haven't found any。I just saw the translation and find them weird.
    – MER
    Commented Dec 6, 2022 at 13:45
  • If the person who they are pretending to be nice to is in a higher position than them, you might use the word sycophant or yes-man.
    – Tom V
    Commented Dec 8, 2022 at 23:31
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    idiom: to put on an act
    – Lambie
    Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 20:03

2 Answers 2

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One name for this behaviour is disingenuity or disingenuousness, although it is more common to use the related adjective and say that a person is being disingenuous.

It means giving a false appearance; having behaviour or words that conceal real feelings.

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  • Yes, that's high register in my book.
    – Lambie
    Commented Sep 14, 2023 at 16:25
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These sorts are often quite simply called "fake friends" in the U.S.

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    That's not the name of the behaviour and does not answer the OP's question.
    – Astralbee
    Commented Dec 9, 2022 at 18:09

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