doppelgänger

or Doppelgänger

[ dop-uhl-gang-er; German daw-puhl-geng-er ]

noun

a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.

Origin of doppelgänger

First recorded in 1850–55; from German: literally, “double-walker,” from doppel double + Gänger “walker” (from Gang “motion, way” + -er -er¹; cf. gang¹ )

Also called doubleganger.

Words Nearby doppelgänger

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use doppelgänger in a sentence

Since your doppelgänger was twice as fast as you, that meant they must have moved twice as far in some direction.
Can You Hit These Riddles Out Of The Park? | Zach Wissner-Gross | October 15, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
On the other side of the lamppost, the same distance away, there was a doppelgänger, who was obscured by the lamppost and who moved precisely twice as fast as you at all times.
Can You Hit These Riddles Out Of The Park? | Zach Wissner-Gross | October 15, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
Feeling outmaneuvered, you suspect that your doppelgänger moves precisely twice as fast as you at all times.
Can You Evade Your Evil Twin? | Zach Wissner-Gross | October 8, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
Still no sign of the speedy doppelgänger, who is assuredly still obscured by the lamppost.
Can You Evade Your Evil Twin? | Zach Wissner-Gross | October 8, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight
You can’t be sure, but you briefly spot a doppelgänger on the other side of the lamppost, the same distance away.
Can You Evade Your Evil Twin? | Zach Wissner-Gross | October 8, 2021 | FiveThirtyEight

So she embarked on a quest to find her Palestinian doppelganger.
Israel, Hamas, WhatsApp and Hacked Phones in the Gaza Psy-War | Itay Hod | July 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
He says the character of Matt is, in a way, his doppelganger.
Max Friedlich, Teenage Playwright, Dazzles With Controversial ‘SleepOver’ | Ramin Setoodeh | August 24, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
And of course there was her more glamorous doppelganger—Sarah Palin, the “silver-medalist in the 2008 vice-presidential race.”
Stay Frumpy, Tina Fey! | Rebecca Dana | April 11, 2010 | THE DAILY BEAST
Bogosian talked to The Daily Beast about his dark Rothian doppelganger.
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Jerk | Lizzie Stark | May 5, 2009 | THE DAILY BEAST
Mr. Westfall began to watch for Louise and to trot after her like a doppelganger.
Danger! A True History of a Great City's Wiles and Temptations | William Howe

British Dictionary definitions for doppelgänger

doppelgänger

/ (ˈdɒpəlˌɡɛŋə, German ˈdɔpəlˌɡɛŋər) /

noun

legend a ghostly duplicate of a living person

Origin of doppelgänger

from German Doppelgänger, literally: double-goer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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