hypocrisy

noun hy·poc·ri·sy \ hi-ˈpä-krə-sē also hī- \

Updated on: 14 May 2018

Definition of hypocrisy

plural hypocrisies

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.

Recent Examples of hypocrisy from the Web

Everton fans have been left incensed by Liverpool supporters' hypocrisy concerning a shove from Andy Robertson during his side's match against Roma.

— SI.com, "Everton Fans Call for Defender to Be Banned for Champions League Final After 'Hypocrisy'," 4 May 2018
That could blunt charges of hypocrisy Braun has levelled against Donnelly, a longtime outsourcing critic who sold stock in a family business after the AP reported the company owned a factory in Mexico.

— brian slodysko, Indianapolis Star, "Senate candidate Mike Braun's rhetoric, business record don't line up," 1 May 2018
The following day, a tweet went viral that pointed out the irony and hypocrisy of these events, with regard to some of the actions taken within the United States itself.

— de elizabeth, Teen Vogue, "Viral Meme Points Out the Hypocrisy in Trump's Syrian Air Strikes," 15 Apr. 2018
Several of them told me stories of hypocrisy in the movement.

— sarah jones, The New Republic, "Can White Supremacists Unlearn Hate?," 13 Apr. 2018
When that sheriff continues to have difficulty conforming with state law, that lesson looks a lot like hypocrisy.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "It's time for Gov. Bevin to get involved at the University of Louisville | Tim Sullivan," 6 Feb. 2018
The rank hypocrisy of many of the environmental movement’s superstars also alienates potential followers.

— stewart easterby, WSJ, "Climate Activists Are Lousy Salesmen," 25 Apr. 2018
But life centered around synanons, which became known as Games or simply the Game, where members would sit in a circle and call people out on their secrets, their dishonesties, their hypocrisies.

— hillel aron, Los Angeles Magazine, "The Story of This Drug Rehab-Turned-Violent Cult Is Wild, Wild Country-Caliber Bizarre," 23 Apr. 2018
Meanwhile, Republican representatives accused liberal lawmakers of hypocrisy for expressing so much outrage about Cambridge Analytica.

— issie lapowsky, WIRED, "Mark Zuckerberg and the Tale of Two Hearings," 11 Apr. 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.

Origin and Etymology of 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 ¹certain

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First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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hypocrisy Synonyms

HYPOCRISY Defined for English Language Learners

hypocrisy

noun

Definition of hypocrisy for English Language Learners

: 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