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Tartuffe

American  
[tahr-toof, -toof, tar-tyf] / tɑrˈtʊf, -ˈtuf, tarˈtüf /

noun

plural

Tartuffes

  1. (italics) a comedy (1664–69) by Molière.

  2. (often lowercase) Also Tartufe a hypocritical pretender to piety.

Tartuffe British  
/ tɑːˈtʊf, -ˈtuːf /

noun

  1. a person who hypocritically pretends to be deeply pious

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of Tartuffe

from the character in the Molière's comedy Tartuffe (1664)

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.

Ncuti Gatwa performs as Valere in Tartuffe in 2012.

From BBC • Jan. 2, 2026

In the nominally central roles of Tartuffe and Orgon, Mr. Broderick and Mr. Cross are both oddly subdued.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Once invited into his house, Tartuffe uses every nefarious scheme possible to steal from his benefactor, creating chaos for everyone around him.

From Salon • Mar. 6, 2024

But his diamond-hard intelligence was immediately identifiable even when he was playing a character as willfully obtuse as Orgon in Moliere's "Tartuffe," which he magisterially performed on Broadway in 2003.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 15, 2016

Then he had her memorize a page from Molière’s Le Tartuffe and its English translation.

From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith

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.