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

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

doppelgänger doppelgängers

Thanks to his digital doppelgänger, “I am accomplishing so much more that I couldn’t have accomplished before,” says Hoffman.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 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

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

From absurdist metafictions involving doppelgängers to a documentary about a slain music star that utilizes never-before-seen home footage, these were the best Latino films of 2025.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 30, 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

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

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

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