hypocrite
Americannoun
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a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that they do not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.
-
a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, especially one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie their public statements.
noun
Other Word Forms
- hypocritical adjective
- hypocritically adverb
- superhypocrite noun
Etymology
Origin of hypocrite
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English ipocrite from Old French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hypokritḗs “a stage actor,” hence “one who pretends to be what he is not,” equivalent to hypokrī(nesthai) ( hypocrisy ) + -tēs agent suffix
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.
She had seen some of Watt's YouTube videos at the protests and described him as "a hypocrite".
From BBC
“He’s not a hypocrite saying one thing and doing another. He lives what he believes.”
From Salon
“My kids were like: ‘You hypocrite!’ ” says Scott, 58, who lives in Los Altos, Calif., and is now the co-founder of an executive education firm.
Souris observes that the song “. . .is a blues song, not because of any chord progression, but because Sinéad sees the world for what it is and laments its hypocrites.”
From Salon
“My hope is that I’m getting to bring one of the greatest hypocrites to life in a way that will both make people laugh and also make them recognize that archetype.”
From Los Angeles Times
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.
