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 laughed about how she'll have to be a hypocrite now:
From BBC
But given their exchanges have involved trading insults including fraud, hypocrite and unserious, we'll have to see how their working relationship evolves.
From BBC
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.
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.
