hypocritical

[ hip-uh-krit-i-kuhl ]
See synonyms for hypocritical on Thesaurus.com
adjective
  1. of the nature of hypocrisy, or pretense of having virtues, beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually possess: The parent who has a “do what I say and not what I do” attitude can appear hypocritical to a child.

  2. possessing the characteristics of hypocrisy: Isn't a politician hypocritical for talking about human dignity while voting against reasonable social programs?

Origin of hypocritical

1
First recorded in 1515–25; equivalent to Greek hypokritik(ós) (from hypokritḗs “a stage actor” + -ikós -ic ) + -al1; see hypocrite

Other words from hypocritical

  • hyp·o·crit·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • un·hyp·o·crit·i·cal, adjective
  • un·hyp·o·crit·i·cal·ly, adverb

Words that may be confused with hypocritical

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use hypocritical in a sentence

  • "Perhaps I had better make myself useful," said I hypocritically.

    The Woman Who Vowed | Ellison Harding
  • It must give him a shock to see how often she proves temporarily or hypocritically indifferent to the demonstrative proceedings.

    The Meaning of Evolution | Samuel Christian Schmucker
  • Beautiful women always hypocritically pretended that they could not help alluring men.

    Notwithstanding | Mary Cholmondeley