hypocrite

ˈhi-pə-ˌkrit 3 syllables uncommon

  1. noun.a person who puts on a false appearance of virtue or religion

    • … there are the hypocrites, who hurry to church on Sunday, but exhibit a whole spectrum of sins during the week.
    • The genuine hypocrite does or says one thing in public and another in private.

  2. noun.a person whose behavior contradicts their stated beliefs or feelings

Source

Origin

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.

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2025