as in deceptive
given to or marked by cheating and deception
warned her not to trust the duplicitous art dealer
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of duplicitous
Cruel, narcissistic, duplicitous—the list is long and by now so familiar that even some of Trump’s supporters concede that his most poisonous attributes are, to use the D.C. lingo, baked into the cake.
—
David Remnick, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2025
My mother is a duplicitous, bitter woman and my father is a weak-willed, hateful homophobe.
—R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 17 July 2025
The Balloon Boy hoax would seem to have all the right elements for a revisitation: a hapless, alleged victim (6-year-old Falcon Heene), sky-high danger (the balloon reached about 7,000 feet), daringly duplicitous parents (Richard and Mayumi Heene), and a national profile that gripped audiences.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 23 June 2025
With Jackson as the criminal mastermind, Green as his duplicitous wife and Fleder (Runaway Jury) behind the camera, Just Play Dead has the cast and hook to tempt both streamers and theatrical buyers.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for duplicitous
David Remnick, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2025
My mother is a duplicitous, bitter woman and my father is a weak-willed, hateful homophobe.
—R. Eric Thomas, Mercury News, 17 July 2025
The Balloon Boy hoax would seem to have all the right elements for a revisitation: a hapless, alleged victim (6-year-old Falcon Heene), sky-high danger (the balloon reached about 7,000 feet), daringly duplicitous parents (Richard and Mayumi Heene), and a national profile that gripped audiences.
—John Wenzel, Denver Post, 23 June 2025
With Jackson as the criminal mastermind, Green as his duplicitous wife and Fleder (Runaway Jury) behind the camera, Just Play Dead has the cast and hook to tempt both streamers and theatrical buyers.
—Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for duplicitous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for duplicitous
Adjective
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Unboxed, these black silicone bands look unassuming, but their simplicity is deceptive.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
7 Oct. 2025
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The shuttering of the agency that enforces laws against anticompetitive and deceptive business behavior is one small part of the national gridlock that began on Wednesday and could result in the furlough of 750,000 federal workers and delay air travel.—
Reuters,
USA Today,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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In audits by Guardio, Comet was tricked into making fraudulent purchases from fake sites—completing entire checkout flows without human verification.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
10 Oct. 2025
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Today’s legislation protects both animals and Californians by addressing fraudulent pet breeding and selling practices.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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This shady ramble follows a beautiful stream to a gushing spring.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
10 Oct. 2025
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With the story transposed to a tough sprawling prison in Marseille, one of France’s most multicultural cities, the protagonist is now a young African immigrant, serving time for drug smuggling, who is offered the protection of a powerful and shady French-Algerian businessman.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Ventura also rejected the defense’s portrayal of Combs as a changed man, calling it dishonest and dangerous.—
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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No wonder de Lesseps became a national pariah whose name was synonymous with dishonest incompetence.—
U T Editorial Board,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Instead of squandering a potential big inning, the Cubs had put up a crooked number.—
Sahadev Sharma,
New York Times,
9 Oct. 2025
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The few mourners walked away beneath the crooked, treeless oaks and hickories of the Westminster Presbyterian burying ground.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Duplicitous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/duplicitous. Accessed 13 Oct. 2025.
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