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whited sepulcher

American  
[hwahy-tid sep-uhl-ker, wahy‐] / ˈʰwaɪ tɪd ˌsɛp əl kər, ˈwaɪ‐ /
especially British, whited sepulchre

noun

  1. an evil person who feigns goodness; hypocrite. Matthew 23:27.


Etymology

Origin of whited sepulcher

First recorded in 1530–40

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.

In the cold concrete of the great bunker, the whited sepulcher of National Socialism, the moviegoer has the vivid sensation, for most of two hours, that he is buried alive.

From Time Magazine Archive

It's a whited sepulcher, that's what it is.

From The Witness by Lutz, Grace Livingston Hill

Yes, the female prisoner, in the coarse gray woolen gown and close white linen cap, who sat on the wooden bench binding shoes, was Katie's "whited sepulcher."

From Self-Raised Or, From the Depths by Southworth, Emma Dorothy Eliza Nevitte

The whited sepulcher lay a heap of blackened ruins.

From The Witness by Lutz, Grace Livingston Hill

And the woman knew that her frailties were many and the hiss was Truth, and that all her loveliness was but a whited sepulcher that hid the ghastly bones of a murdered womanhood.

From Brann the Iconoclast — Volume 10 by Brann, William Cowper

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