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.

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

Related Words for hypocrisies

fraud, deception, duplicity, mockery, bigotry, insincerity, deceit, dishonesty, double-dealing, lie, casuistry, sanctimoniousness, falsity, sanctimony, cant, pietism, quackery, speciousness, affectation, irreverence

Examples from the Web for hypocrisies

Contemporary Examples of 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
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

Historical Examples of hypocrisies

Go back to the lies and hypocrisies of society, and the brainless, mashers who adorn it!
The Christian
Hall Caine
Of what good were these hypocrisies, and whom did they deceive?
Conscience, Complete
Hector Malot
Believe you that you can dupe me by your hypocrisies and base flatteries?
The Key to the Bront Works
John Malham-Dembleby
Shall we continue to close our eyes to the hypocrisies of the church?
Idling in Italy
Joseph Collins
What prohibitions, what hypocrisies, what responsibilities, what sorrows!
Soliloquies in England
George Santayana

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]