hypocritical

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

Other Words from hypocritical Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More About hypocritical

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 During his radio show, Stern explained why the events — and the reactions to them — were hypocritical. — Kelly Wynne, PEOPLE.com, 5 May 2022 And now their attempts to sign collective letters and resent the sanctions look hypocritical. — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 7 Mar. 2022 As Meta sets up fees for metaverse creators that will take nearly half of their earnings, Apple argues that the move is hypocritical given the social network's attacks on Apple's 30% fee. — Mark Knapp, PCMAG, 14 Apr. 2022 Moscow counters that Washington’s criticism is hypocritical, given U.S. military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan, much farther from its own shores, during the past two decades. — Robin Wright, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2022 What’s not debatable is that the global leader in asset management takes a hypocritical approach to ESG, as do countless similarly minded companies. — Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 4 Feb. 2022 That’s the concerning, hypocritical message being delivered. — Bryce Miller Columnist, San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Feb. 2022 Legal and political experts immediately criticized the new district contours as a blatant and hypocritical partisan gerrymander. — New York Times, 2 Feb. 2022 Other Republicans made similar hypocritical announcements. — Elaine Ayala, San Antonio Express-News, 26 Jan. 2022 See More

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.