doppelgänger

American  

[dop-uhl-gang-er, daw-puhl-geng-er] / ˈdɒp əlˌgæŋ ər, ˈdɔ pəlˌgɛŋ ər /

Or Doppelgänger

noun

• doppelgängers
  plural

1. a ghostly double or counterpart of a living person.

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doppelgänger British  

/ ˈdɒpəlˌɡɛŋə, ˈdɔpəlˌɡɛŋər /

noun

1. legend a ghostly duplicate of a living person

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• doppelgängers
  plural

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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. ))

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doppelgänger doppelgängers

In that 1919 essay, Freud focuses on the doppelgänger, or “double,” noting how we twin with dolls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 31, 2026

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

“I have joked — and it’s not a bad comp — that we’re reaching for Merchant/Ivory doing Hammer Horror,” says Eggers, who staged a version of the Germanic “Dracula” doppelgänger in high school.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2024

The opening track, “Gemini,” is a vivid but fretful tale of modern malaise and a doppelgänger who gives Heynderickx refreshing perspective.

From New York Times ● Nov. 15, 2024

When he entered a tournament, dressed in a khaki shirt and pants and dark tie and displaying that mustache, it was as if a doppelgänger of Der Fuehrer had been incarnated.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

A pair of women, seeming doppelgängers of Ari’s roommate and a second guest, suddenly appear; as inexplicably, the host vanishes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026

Lifelike puppet doppelgängers enabled scenes in which characters appear to interact with someone twice or half their size.

From New York Times ● Jun. 23, 2023

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

Others praise her performance in the film and poke fun at her many doppelgängers.

From Salon ● Feb. 1, 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

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