hypocrisy

[hi-pok-ruh-see]

noun, plural hy·poc·ri·sies.

a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.

a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.

an act or instance of hypocrisy.

Nearby words

Origin of hypocrisy

1175–1225; Middle English ipocrisie < Old French < Late Latin hypocrisis < Greek hypókrisis play acting, equivalent to hypokrī́(nesthai) to play a part, explain (hypo- hypo- + krī́nein to distinguish, separate) + -sis -sis; h- (reintroduced in 16th century) < Latin and Greek

Related formshy·per·hy·poc·ri·sy, noun

Synonym study

1. See duplicity.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hypocrisies

Pivot forward and you can see the hypocrisies that will be dragged out in the coming days.
Team Boehner’s Hypocrisy|John Avlon|July 26, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A longtime advocate of Israeli-Palestinian cooperation on the hypocrisies—and complexities—of the Gaza conflict.
Where Were the Protesters When Missiles Were Hitting Israel?|Benjamin Pogrund|January 9, 2009|DAILY BEAST
For even in this simple and antique relation of the mother and the child, hypocrisies are multiplied.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson - Swanston Edition Vol. XIX (of 25)|Robert Louis Stevenson
Above all, it is frank; there are no evasions, no sentimental lies, no hypocrisies before facts.
Plays, Acting and Music|Arthur Symons

The attack opened by Valla upon the hypocrisies and false doctrines of monasticism was both powerful and novel.
Renaissance in Italy, Volume 2 (of 7)|John Addington Symonds
At the hypocrisies and falsehoods of his party, deeds of treachery and blood, Moray looked through his fingers.
The Mystery of Mary Stuart|Andrew Lang
It was easy for him to match the present hypocrisy with hypocrisies that he had seen of old.
The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 17, No. 104, June, 1866|Various

British Dictionary definitions for hypocrisies

hypocrisy

noun plural -sies

the practice of professing standards, beliefs, etc, contrary to one's real character or actual behaviour, esp the pretence of virtue and piety

an act or instance of this

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hypocrisies

hypocrisy

c.1200, ipocrisie, from Old French ypocrisie, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Greek hypokrisis "acting on the stage, pretense," from hypokrinesthai "play a part, pretend," also "answer," from hypo- "under" (see sub-) + middle voice of krinein "to sift, decide" (see crisis). The sense evolution in Attic Greek is from "separate gradually" to "answer" to "answer a fellow actor on stage" to "play a part." The h- was restored in English 16c.

Hypocrisy is the art of affecting qualities for the purpose of pretending to an undeserved virtue. Because individuals and institutions and societies most often live down to the suspicions about them, hypocrisy and its accompanying equivocations underpin the conduct of life. Imagine how frightful truth unvarnished would be. [Benjamin F. Martin, "France in 1938," 2005]