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hypocrisy

noun
hy·​poc·​ri·​sy | \hi-ˈpä-krə-sē also hī- \
plural hypocrisies

Definition of hypocrisy 

1 : a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not : behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel His hypocrisy was finally revealed with the publication of his private letters. especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion our conventional morality often serves as a cover for hypocrisy and selfishness — Lucius Garvin

2 : an act or instance of hypocrisy a keen awareness of one's parents' hypocrisies

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Examples of hypocrisy in a Sentence

When his private letters were made public, they revealed his hypocrisy. the hypocrisy of people who say one thing but do another Teenagers often have a keen awareness of their parents' hypocrisies.
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Recent Examples on the Web

 Others chimed in to comment on the rapper’s blatant hypocrisy. — Mekita Rivas, Teen Vogue, "Kanye West Rants About Cheating America at the White House When Some Yeezys Were Made in China," 17 Oct. 2018 Of course, none of them cared that Mollie herself had an evolved view of immigration, was critical of the President’s hypocrisy on the issue, and expressed progressive views on her own Twitter account. — Alyssa Milano, Harper's BAZAAR, "Republicans Are Waging War on Women—and Two Women Can Stop Them," 20 Sep. 2018 Macdonald includes all that without comment, which makes the hypocrisy all the more striking. — Randy Cordova, azcentral, "In revealing documentary 'Whitney,' a superstar's life unravels," 5 July 2018 And that’s why the American people are sick of the lip service and the hypocrisy. — Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, "Jeff Sessions Joked About Separating Migrant Children From Their Loved Ones Because He’s Jeff Sessions," 27 June 2018 This is why the American people are sick of the lip service and the hypocrisy. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Attorney General Jeff Sessions claims “lunatic fringe” oppose Trump’s border policies," 26 June 2018 Haley said many countries agree with US accusations of anti-Israel bias on the council and hypocrisy by abusers, but apparently lacked the courage to openly challenge the status quo. — Carol Morello, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump administration pulls US out of UN Human Rights Council," 19 June 2018 Obviously, this entailed a certain amount of hypocrisy, given Harry’s history and that of his family. — Lauren Collins, The New Yorker, "Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Royal Romance," 11 May 2018 Politics, pop culture and activism in the last two years have drawn renewed attention to gender disparities, double-standards, hypocrisy, institutionalized bias and all kinds of rampant sexism. — John Adamian, courant.com, "Three-Day Women Composers Festival At Various Hartford Venues," 31 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hypocrisy.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of hypocrisy

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

History and Etymology for hypocrisy

Middle English ypocrisye, borrowed from Anglo-French ypocrisie, borrowed from Late Latin hypocrisis, ypocrisis, borrowed from Greek hypókrisis "playing a part on the stage, pretending to be something one is not," from hypokri-, variant stem of hypokrī́nomai, hypokrī́nesthai "to reply, make an answer, speak in dialogue, play a part on the stage, feign" (from hypo- hypo- + krī́nomai, middle voice of krī́nō, krī́nein "to separate, choose, decide, judge") + -sis, suffix forming nouns of action or process — more at certain entry 1

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Statistics for hypocrisy

Last Updated

12 Nov 2018

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Time Traveler for hypocrisy

The first known use of hypocrisy was in the 13th century

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More Definitions for hypocrisy

hypocrisy

noun

English Language Learners Definition of hypocrisy

: the behavior of people who do things that they tell other people not to do : behavior that does not agree with what someone claims to believe or feel

See the full definition for hypocrisy in the English Language Learners Dictionary

hypocrisy

noun
hy·​poc·​ri·​sy | \hi-ˈpä-krə-sē \
plural hypocrisies

Kids Definition of hypocrisy

: the quality of acting in a way that goes against claimed beliefs or feelings

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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for hypocrisy

Spanish Central: Translation of hypocrisy

Nglish: Translation of hypocrisy for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of hypocrisy for Arabic Speakers

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