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The Double Nature of Duplicity and Duplicitous
The idea of doubleness is at the core of duplicity and duplicitous. Duplicity is the older of the pair; it comes from a Latin word meaning "double" or "twofold," and its original meaning in English has to do with a kind of deception in which you intentionally hide your true feelings or intentions behind false words or actions. If you are being duplicitous there are two yous: the one you're showing and the one you're hiding. And—key to the idea of duplicity—you're hiding the hidden you in order to make people believe something that's not true.
The word is found in many works of literature, including the Bible:
The integrity of the upright guides them, but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.
— Proverbs 11:3 (New International Version)Even when he sat opposite me in the kitchen, talking, he would turn his head a little toward the clock or the stove and look at me from the side, but with frankness and good nature. This trick did not suggest duplicity or secretiveness ...
— Willa Cather, My Antonia, 1918Arch read it at breakfast the day it came out and again that night. He admired its art but was most affected, and in fact discomfited, by its unblinking inventory of self-seeking and duplicity.
— Tobias Wolff, Old School, 2003
Examples of duplicitous in a Sentence
Danielle Wallace , Beth Bailey, FOXNews.com, 22 June 2025
Michelle Wu’s duplicitous stunt demanding Freedom of Information responses from ICE is just the latest laughable Democratic tactic to stoke opposition to President Donald Trump’s deportation roundup.
—Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 12 June 2025
Each character is so drawn and voiced so specifically this Animal Farm really does become a microcosm of society with Rogen’s duplicitous Napoleon the classic case of someone consumed with power and his own narcissism (remind you of anyone?).
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 9 June 2025
The rise of Darth Vader Anakin Skywalker discovers Palpatine's true identity as a Sith Lord and backs him instead of the Jedi Masters who intended to arrest the duplicitous chancellor.
—As seen in Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of the Sith.
—Nick Romano, EW.com, 25 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for duplicitous
Cite this Entry
“Duplicitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/duplicitous. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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duplicitous
adjective
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