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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Foreign Words and Phrases Commonly Used in English, List 3
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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
But that isn’t what Alaska officials were doing in seeking to boot a ballot doppelgänger.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
As the demands of these two facets of his life become overwhelming, he decides to hire a doppelgänger to take over his professional commitments.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 23, 2025
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
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
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
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
The comedian Susie Essman spots them regularly, out in the urban wild: fashion doppelgängers.
From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 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
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
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.
