as in fake
not being or expressing what one appears to be or express
it's hypocritical to say mean things behind someone's back, and then to act nice when you want something from her
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Recent Examples of hypocritical
That struck him as hypocritical when about a year later, while incarcerated against his will, the same military demanded his willingness to serve, likely in the segregated unit of Japanese American soldiers called the 442nd Regimental Combat Team.
—
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Judges could reason the NCAA interpreting rules to allow pros from some leagues, but not others, is hypocritical and arbitrary.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Feb. 2026
And if you’re inspired to take some meaningful, not at all hypocritical action against book bans, there are plenty of ways to get plugged in with Authors Against Book Bans.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 9 Feb. 2026
An about-face a few years down the line might look hypocritical in light of the new Super Bowl ad the company is releasing to highlight its announcement.
—Dominic Preston, The Verge, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hypocritical
Jake Goodrick, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026
Judges could reason the NCAA interpreting rules to allow pros from some leagues, but not others, is hypocritical and arbitrary.
—Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 10 Feb. 2026
And if you’re inspired to take some meaningful, not at all hypocritical action against book bans, there are plenty of ways to get plugged in with Authors Against Book Bans.
—James Folta, Literary Hub, 9 Feb. 2026
An about-face a few years down the line might look hypocritical in light of the new Super Bowl ad the company is releasing to highlight its announcement.
—Dominic Preston, The Verge, 4 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for hypocritical
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hypocritical
Adjective
-
Police listed multiple flags to watch out for, including Irish and British accents, saying many of the members are part of international rings of foreign nationals using fake business names.—
Tim Fang,
CBS News,
6 Mar. 2026
-
However, the best part of this entire charade was not Devens hiding a fake idol at Tribal Council.—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The cancerous tissue contained on average more than double the amount of plastic as healthy prostate tissue samples, the study found.—
Khloe Quill,
FOXNews.com,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Crucially, however, there is another view onto Bove’s sculpture beyond the double illusionism of its oblique materialism and front-facing near-pictorialism.—
Gordon Hughes,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Now making promises is becoming meaningless.—
Brit McCandless Farmer,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
-
Without a police presence, these changes are meaningless.—
U T Readers,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
While traditional facelifts merely tighten the skin in a superficial manner, deep-plane procedures can now reorganize the underlying structure of the face, repositioning muscles, fat pads, and ligaments in a labile system of roving features.—
Patrick R. Crowley,
Artforum,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Luckily, his wounds were only superficial.—
Emiliano Tahui Gómez,
Austin American Statesman,
1 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Tatianna points to cinnamon as a conductor of heat—one commonly used in lip plumper products to achieve a sultry pout.—
Essence,
Essence,
23 Nov. 2025
-
The pop of color offers a shimmer-free (rare!) means of warming up a wedding look and works equally well at lip level.—
Calin Van Paris,
Vogue,
12 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Which is not to say that Amodei is being insincere.—
Jeremy Kahn,
Fortune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
Then again, Friday’s show was a reminder that much of Rascal Flatts’ output can get overly glossy and insincere, so maybe that wasn’t such a bad thing after all.—
Ross Raihala,
Twin Cities,
24 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
With Powell missing his third straight game because of a strained right groin, the Heat went with the starting lineup of Davion Mitchell, Herro, Pelle Larsson, Andrew Wiggins and Adebayo for the third consecutive game.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
6 Mar. 2026
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The White House pledge for tech companies responds to fears of what data center buildouts mean for everyday Americans’ strained wallets.—
Eric Schmidt,
Fortune,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Many of the tens of thousands of homes are hollow husks of concrete and alabaster.—
Albee Zhang,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2026
-
Handsome and adventurous, Magni is an excellent hunter and natural ladies’ man, but the life of an immortal playboy has begun to feel hollow and Magni is yearning for a greater purpose.—
Rosy Cordero,
Deadline,
2 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Hypocritical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hypocritical. Accessed 9 Mar. 2026.
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