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

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

As an adult I acquired a different doppelgänger, not a famous actor but a fellow opinion journalist whom I happened to befriend after moving to New York in the mid-1990s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

Stressed about the impossibility of work-life balance, a Mexican American music video director hires a doppelgänger in this film, which premiered at Sundance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025

On that cold rainy day, Zendaya doppelgänger Zainab Bansfield took home the coveted $40 prize, hair care products and bragging rights.

From Salon ● Nov. 25, 2024

Ishtar, or her historical doppelgänger, smiled amusedly at me, as if remembering a joke only she understood.

From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda

Tune in to this spooky episode of Decoder Ring for “a seasonally appropriate literary mystery—one full of doppelgängers, supervillains, plot twists, and vampires who just refuse to die.”

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

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

Start at the beginning here; there is an involved mythology of renegade love, corporate malfeasance and secret doppelgängers.

From New York Times ● Oct. 20, 2023

The author researched doppelgängers as a fellow at the Columbia Institute for Ideas and Imagination in Paris, one of the cities on Elsa’s global itinerary.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2023

The same players, or their doppelgängers; the same pictured nymphs smiling on the ornate walls.

From The Princess Passes by A. M. (Alice Muriel) Williamson

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