hypocrisy
Americannoun
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a pretense of having a virtuous character, moral or religious beliefs or principles, etc., that one does not really possess.
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a pretense of having some desirable or publicly approved attitude.
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an act or instance of hypocrisy.
noun
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the practice of professing standards, beliefs, etc, contrary to one's real character or actual behaviour, esp the pretence of virtue and piety
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an act or instance of this
Synonym Usage
See duplicity.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of hypocrisy
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English ipocrisie, from Old French, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Greek hypókrisis “play acting,” from hypokrī(nesthai)́ “to play a part, explain” (from hypo- hypo- + krī́nein “to distinguish, separate”) + -sis -sis
Explanation
People who tell you not to eat candy while they chomp away on licorice all day? People who say they hate cars but always beg you for a ride? They are engaging in hypocrisy, or behavior that is different from what they say they believe. A hypocrite is a person who practices hypocrisy: what they say is not what they do. The noun hypocrisy descends from the Greek hypokrisis "acting on a stage," from hypokrinesthai "to play a part, pretend," from the prefix hypo- "under" plus krinein "to judge." Many times kids are enraged by their parents' hypocrisy when parents make their children follow rules they don't follow themselves.
Vocabulary lists containing hypocrisy
Advanced English Words
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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.
The deal marked a change of heart for Musk, who had earlier claimed that Anthropic’s AI was racist and accused the company of hypocrisy.
From MarketWatch • May 19, 2026
Rayner faced charges of hypocrisy and calls for her to stand down, and she did so after admitting arrangements on her family home in Greater Manchester meant she should have paid a higher rate.
From BBC • May 14, 2026
And though clearly on the side of forgiveness and compassion, Tanaka is also fully aware of her nation’s prevailing hypocrisy, which accounts for the film’s fittingly ambiguous ending.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 4, 2026
While it’s true, as EduBirdie told Salon, that many of the online influencers peddling the “tradwife” life are actually paid professionals who make money off creating content, this hypocrisy doesn’t exonerate them.
From Salon • Apr. 13, 2026
If this sham was conventional hypocrisy, she had to concede that it had its uses.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
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.
