hypocritical

adjective

hyp·o·crit·i·cal ˌhi-pə-ˈkri-ti-kəl

Synonyms of hypocritical next

: 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

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 on the Web This seems to be a deliberate departure from the traditional somber funeral, which was sometimes impersonal or hypocritical. —

Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 25 Mar. 2024 Grande’s question is, in fact, a little hypocritical. —

Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2024 Important regional powers such as India and South Africa have bad memories of Western colonialism and see the West’s invocation of a moral struggle as self-serving and hypocritical. —

Max Bergmann, Foreign Affairs, 6 Mar. 2024 Though the women’s Chamber Match had better action, the men’s match told a better story with a hypocritical McIntyre capitalizing on one cheap pinfall after another. —

Alfred Konuwa, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2024 Critics of Apple’s alleged anticompetitive practices have long complained that its claim to prioritize user privacy is hypocritical when profits are at stake. —

Michael Liedtke, Fortune, 21 Mar. 2024 Many users voiced support for the app and its efforts to contest the bill, which include a full-screen notification encouraging users to call their representatives; some accused the US of being hypocritical. —

Nectar Gan, CNN, 13 Mar. 2024 That so much of it is hypocritical in singling out Israel for censure — while ignoring the excesses of Iran, Russia, Syria and China, not to mention Hamas — is true. —

Thomas L. Friedman, The Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2024 There’s nothing hypocritical about compartmentalizing a cam gig. —

Kwame Anthony Appiah, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hypocritical.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

hypocritic "of a hypocrite" (borrowed from Medieval Latin hypocriticus, borrowed from Greek hypokritikós "of acting, skilled in rhetorical delivery," from hypokritḗs "answerer, actor on a stage" + -ikos -ic entry 1) + -al entry 1 — more at hypocrite