hypocrisy

noun

hy·​poc·​ri·​sy hi-ˈpä-krə-sē 

 also  hī-

plural hypocrisies

1

: a feigning to be what one is not or to believe what one does not : behavior that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel

His hypocrisy was finally revealed with the publication of his private letters.

especially : the false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion

our conventional morality often serves as a cover for hypocrisy and selfishness

—Lucius Garvin

2

: an act or instance of hypocrisy

a keen awareness of one's parents' hypocrisies

Synonyms

• cant
• dissembling
• dissimulation
• insincerity
• piousness

Examples of hypocrisy in a Sentence

When his private letters were made public, they revealed his hypocrisy.

the hypocrisy of people who say one thing but do another

Teenagers often have a keen awareness of their parents' hypocrisies.

Recent Examples on the Web

Young people, in general, are particularly attuned to hypocrisies, which, in turn, kick up a sometimes errant, but oftentimes righteous, desire to rage against the machine. —Jay Caspian Kang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024

Lying, like hypocrisy, happens often in the business world — and sometimes makes headlines. —Stephanie Dillon, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2024

She’s successfully beaten back charges of hypocrisy and bandwagon feminism, and her star can continue to shine. —Constance Grady, Vox, 12 Sep. 2024

The unending, unjust Israel-Hamas war exposes rifts in the universality of human rights and the hypocrisy of Western nations, writes Daoud Kuttab, a Palestinian journalist and former professor of journalism at Princeton University. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ypocrisye, borrowed from Anglo-French ypocrisie, borrowed from Late Latin hypocrisis, ypocrisis, borrowed from Greek hypókrisis "playing a part on the stage, pretending to be something one is not," from hypokri-, variant stem of hypokrī́nomai, hypokrī́nesthai "to reply, make an answer, speak in dialogue, play a part on the stage, feign" (from hypo- hypo- + krī́nomai, middle voice of krī́nō, krī́nein "to separate, choose, decide, judge") + -sis, suffix forming nouns of action or process — more at certain entry 1

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hypocrisy

noun

hy·​poc·​ri·​sy hip-ˈäk-rə-sē 

plural hypocrisies

: behavior that does not agree with what one claims to believe or feel

the hypocrisy of people who say one thing and do another