hypocrite

English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old French ypocrite (Modern French hypocrite), from Latin hypocrita, from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs, “actor, hypocrite”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai, “to answer, act, feign”). Displaced native Old English līċettere.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhɪ.pə.kɹɪt/
  • Audio (US):(file)

Noun

hypocrite (plural hypocrites)

  1. Someone who practices hypocrisy, who pretends to hold beliefs, or whose actions are not consistent with their claimed beliefs. [from early 13th c.]
    Synonyms: flip-flopper, pretender, munafiq (Islam); see also Thesaurus:deceiver
    • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Matthew 6:5:
      And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
    • 1765, Catherine Jemmat, The Memoirs of Mrs. Catherine Jemmat, Daughter of the Late Admiral Yeo, of Plymouth. Written by Herself, 2nd edition, volume I, London: Printed for the author, at Charing-Cross, →OCLC, page 145:
      [S]he was one of your ſoft ſpoken, canting, whining hypocrites, who with a truly jeſuitical art, could wreſt evil out of the moſt inoffenſive thought, word, look or action; […]
    • 2012 November 30, Paul Finkelman, “The Real Thomas Jefferson: The Monster of Monticello”, in The New York Times‎[1], New York, N.Y.: The New York Times Company, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 7 October 2025:
      Neither Mr. Meacham, who mostly ignores Jefferson’s slave ownership, nor Mr. Wiencek, who sees him as a sort of fallen angel who comes to slavery only after discovering how profitable it could be, seem willing to confront the ugly truth: the third president was a creepy, brutal hypocrite.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Further reading

Anagrams

French

Pronunciation

Adjective

hypocrite (plural hypocrites)

  1. hypocritical
    • 1857, Charles Baudelaire, “Au lecteur”, in Les Fleurs du mal [The Flowers of Evil], Paris: Poulet-Malassis et De Broise:
      Tu le connais, lecteur, ce monstre délicat, / — Hypocrite lecteur, — mon semblable, — mon frère !
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

Noun

hypocrite m or f by sense (plural hypocrites)

  1. hypocrite

Synonyms

Descendants

  • Haitian Creole: ipokrit
  • Mauritian Creole: ipokrit
  • → Romanian: ipocrit

Further reading

Anagrams

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