doppelgänger
Americannoun
-
doppelgängers
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of doppelgänger
First recorded in 1850–55; from German: literally, “double-walker,” from doppel double ( def. ) + Gänger “walker” (from Gang “motion, way” + -er -er 1 ( def. ); cf. gang 1 ( def. ))
Explanation
Someone who looks spookily like you, but isn't a twin, is a doppelganger. Originally, this was a type of ghost. The word doppelganger is German and literally means double walker — as in a ghost or shadow of yourself. An easy way to remember it is that doppelganger sounds like double, as in "That movie star is my double. We look so much alike." These days, most people don't refer to the ghost meaning when talking about doppelgangers: they just mean someone who looks a lot like you or could be your twin. Still, that is pretty spooky.
Vocabulary lists containing doppelganger
The Fault in Our Stars
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This Week in Pop Culture : January 5 - 11, 2019
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The Shining
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The Quaker chaplain usually posts about religion on social media, but said people would comment on her posts describing her as the Labour leader's doppelgänger.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
A Calvin Klein spokeswoman said the doppelgänger is a coincidence and the photos were taken in November, before “Love Story” aired.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
Bobbitt is one of several curly-haired, high-cheekboned Chalamet wannabees hoping to be crowned Chalamet’s doppelgänger and take home a $50 cash prize.
From Salon ● Oct. 29, 2024
“There’s a gentleman in your audience who looks strikingly similar to Beavis, from the cartoon ‘Beavis and Butt-Head,’” Thompson says of Gosling’s Beavis doppelgänger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2024
Boaz thought of the memes he’d seen claiming that some actor was actually a time traveler, their doppelgänger found in a vintage photograph.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
By understanding the tactics employed by these digital doppelgängers and taking proactive steps to protect yourself, you can significantly reduce your risk of becoming another statistic.
From Salon ● Oct. 13, 2024
There are plenty of big-name doppelgängers preparing for judgment in the video too, but it was Lil Nas X who got the brunt of brutal discernment in real life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 16, 2024
Heather Tal Murphy runs down four concrete ways A.I. doppelgängers of real people are already being used on screen.
From Slate ● Jun. 5, 2023
Calley Skalnik and Genevieve Penn Nabity, a pair of blonde doppelgängers, added some needed verve, but “Anima” dragged on, especially in its partnering.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
They walked before her and met her like doppelgängers, wearing the self-same old joy of her own face, but she looked at them unswervingly.
From Pembroke A Novel by Mary Eleanor Wilkins Freeman
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
