hypocritical

play

adjective hyp·o·crit·i·cal \ˌhi-pə-ˈkri-ti-kəl\

Definition of hypocritical

: 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 virtue — Robert Graves; also : being a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings : being a hypocrite

hypocritically

play \ˌhi-pə-ˈkri-ti-k(ə-)lē\ 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 of hypocritical from the Web

This was a campaign-style speech and the message couldn’t have been clearer: The Paris climate deal was pushed by hypocritical cosmopolitan elites.

— alex shephard, New Republic, "Donald Trump has no political philosophy beyond pissing off liberals.", 2 June 2017
Her reaction could be called hypocritical given her history of mocking other people’s appearances.

— katie mettler, Washington Post, "‘He broke me’: A defiant, tearful Kathy Griffin slams attacks by Trump and his family", 2 June 2017
But also because Hollywood is grossly hypocritical.

— timothy stanley, CNN, "Hollywood, spare us your hypocrisy", 16 Jan. 2017
This is arguably the most paternalistic and hypocritical objection to return of genetic results.

— daniel macarthur, WIRED, "Got to Give It Up", 2 Feb. 2011

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