hypocritical

adjective

hyp·​o·​crit·​i·​cal ˌhi-pə-ˈkri-ti-kəl How to pronounce hypocritical (audio)
: characterized by behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel : characterized by hypocrisy
said that it was hypocritical to demand respect from students without respecting them in return
a hypocritical gesture of modesty and virtueRobert Graves
also : being a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings : being a hypocrite
hypocritically adverb

Examples of hypocritical in a Sentence

it's hypocritical to say mean things behind someone's back, and then to act nice when you want something from her
Recent Examples on the Web That so much of it is hypocritical in singling out Israel for censure — while ignoring the excesses of Iran, Russia, Syria and China, not to mention Hamas — is true. Thomas L. Friedman, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 There’s nothing hypocritical about compartmentalizing a cam gig. Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024 Larry’s friends, much like his foes, are hypocritical, bratty, priggish, lazy. TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 To people all over the world, Western criticisms of Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine now seem to reflect a hypocritical double standard. Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 25 Jan. 2024 After their clumsy and hypocritical testimony before the House on the storms of antisemitism that have blown on their campuses, Magill, president of Penn, and Scott Bok, chairman of the board of trustees who backed her, resigned their positions. Christian Schneider, National Review, 21 Dec. 2023 Was the Tokyo trial just a hypocritical piece of Western propaganda, taken up by Japanese leftists? Ian Buruma, The New Yorker, 16 Oct. 2023 However, Father Pollitt said that some church leaders in Africa were being hypocritical. John Eligon, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2024 This is not a permission slip to act as bellicose jerks or hypocritical scoundrels. Andrew T. Walker, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hypocritical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

hypocritic "of a hypocrite" (borrowed from Medieval Latin hypocriticus, borrowed from Greek hypokritikós "of acting, skilled in rhetorical delivery," from hypokritḗs "answerer, actor on a stage" + -ikos -ic entry 1) + -al entry 1 — more at hypocrite

First Known Use

1553, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hypocritical was in 1553

Dictionary Entries Near hypocritical

Cite this Entry

“Hypocritical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hypocritical. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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