hypocrite

noun

hyp·​o·​crite ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit 

1

: a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

2

: a person who acts in contradiction to his or her stated beliefs or feelings

hypocrite adjective

Examples of hypocrite in a Sentence

We can learn a good deal about the manners and morals of the times from Lautrec, for he was neither a hypocrite nor a sentimentalist, and there is a matter-of-fact-ness about his vision … that precludes both nostalgia and prurience. —Elizabeth Cowling, Times Literary Supplement, 8 Nov. 1991

Holding up high moral, ethical, and social standards is very difficult, because if one falls short of being a perfect example, one becomes a target and a hypocrite, albeit a well-meaning one. —Mark Masters et al., New Dimensions, June 1990

Of all of these things and people Cilla knew nothing, nor could he tell her, yet he tried to show interest in what she had to tell him. Once he would have been very interested. Now he felt like a hypocrite, and because he was uncomfortable he blamed it in some way on Cilla. —Esther Forbes, Johnny Tremain, 1943

the hypocrites who criticize other people for not voting but who don't always vote themselves

Recent Examples on the Web

The next day, the paper published an op-ed arguing that Kennedy's Democratic critics were hypocrites. —David Folkenflik, NPR, 3 Feb. 2025

The Democrats say Republicans are hypocrites for claiming to support law enforcement while simultaneously backing Trump’s decision to pardon more than 1,500 people who were prosecuted for the rampage, including those who attacked police officers protecting the Capitol complex. —Mike Lillis, The Hill, 21 Jan. 2025

The pardon now gives Trump and his allies the opportunity to call Biden a hypocrite and proceed having their own way with the law. —Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 2 Dec. 2024

Those who argue in favor of the killing of some innocent people but against the killing of other innocent people —such as those who justify the unprovoked mass murders of Oct. 7 but condemn Israel’s self-defense measures — should be exposed as hypocrites. —Alan M. Dershowitz, New York Daily News, 22 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ypocrite, borrowed from Anglo-French ipocrite, borrowed from Late Latin hypocrita, borrowed from Greek hypokritḗs "answerer, actor on a stage, pretender," from hypokri-, variant stem of hypokrī́nomai, hypokrī́nesthai "to reply, make an answer, speak in dialogue, play a part on the stage, feign" + -tēs, agent suffix — more at hypocrisy

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

hypocrite

noun

hyp·​o·​crite ˈhip-ə-ˌkrit 

1

: a person who pretends to have virtues or qualities that he or she does not have

2

: a person whose actions contradict their stated beliefs or feelings

hypocritical

ˌhip-ə-ˈkrit-i-kəl

adjective

hypocritically

-i-k(ə-)lē

adverb