What does hypocrisy mean?

Definitions for hypocrisy
hɪˈpɒk rə sihypocrisy

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word hypocrisy.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. hypocrisy, lip servicenoun

    an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction

  2. hypocrisynoun

    insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have

Wiktionary

  1. hypocrisynoun

    the claim or pretense of holding beliefs, feelings, standards, qualities, opinions, virtues or motivations that one does not actually possess.

  2. hypocrisynoun

    applying criticism to others that one does not apply equally to oneself; moral self-contradiction whereby the behavior of one or more people belies their own claimed or implied possession of certain beliefs, standards or virtues.

  3. hypocrisynoun

    an instance of either of the above.

  4. Etymology: From ipocrisie, from ypocrisie, from hypocrisis, from ὑπόκρισις, from ὑποκρίνομαι, from ὑπό + the middle voice of κρίνω.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. Hypocrisynoun

    Dissimulation with regard to the moral or religious character.

    Etymology: hypocrisie, Fr. ὑπόϰϱισις.

    Next stood hypocrisy with holy leer,
    Soft smiling and demurely looking down;
    But hid the dagger underneath the gown. John Dryden, Fables.

    Hypocrisy is much more eligible than open infidelity and vice: it wears the livery of religion, and is cautious of giving scandal: nay, continued disguises are too great a constraint: men would leave off their vices, rather than undergo the toil of practising them in private. Jonathan Swift.

Wikipedia

  1. Hypocrisy

    Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the failure to follow one's own expressed moral rules and principles. According to British political philosopher David Runciman, "Other kinds of hypocritical deception include claims to knowledge that one lacks, claims to a consistency that one cannot sustain, claims to a loyalty that one does not possess, claims to an identity that one does not hold". American political journalist Michael Gerson says that political hypocrisy is "the conscious use of a mask to fool the public and gain political benefit".Hypocrisy has been a subject of folk wisdom and wisdom literature from the beginnings of human history. Increasingly, since the 1980s, it has also become central to studies in behavioral economics, cognitive science, cultural psychology, decision making, ethics, evolutionary psychology, moral psychology, political sociology, positive psychology, social psychology, and sociological social psychology.

ChatGPT

  1. hypocrisy

    Hypocrisy is the act of pretending to have beliefs, opinions, virtues, feelings, qualities, or standards that one does not actually have. It involves behaving in a way that contradicts what one claims to believe or feel. In essence, it's a discrepancy between one's outward appearances or stated values and true character or behavior.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Hypocrisynoun

    the act or practice of a hypocrite; a feigning to be what one is not, or to feel what one does not feel; a dissimulation, or a concealment of one's real character, disposition, or motives; especially, the assuming of false appearance of virtue or religion; a simulation of goodness

  2. Etymology: [OE. hypocrisie, ypocrisie, OF. hypocrisie, ypocrisie, F. hypocrisie, L. hypocrisis, fr. Gr. "ypo`krisis the playing a part on the stage, simulation, outward show, fr. "ypokri`nesqai to answer on the stage, to play a part; "ypo` under + kri`nein to decide; in the middle voice, to dispute, contend. See Hypo-, and Critic.]

Wikidata

  1. Hypocrisy

    Hypocrisy is the state of pretending to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that one does not actually have. Hypocrisy involves the deception of others and is thus a kind of lie. Hypocrisy is not simply failing to practice those virtues that one preaches. Samuel Johnson made this point when he wrote about the misuse of the charge of "hypocrisy" in Rambler No. 14: Thus, an alcoholic's advocating temperance, for example, would not be considered an act of hypocrisy as long as the alcoholic made no pretense of sobriety.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Hypocrisy

    hi-pok′ri-si, n. a feigning to be what one is not: concealment of true character. [Gr. hypokrisishypokrinesthai, to play on the stage, from hypo, under, krinein, to decide.]

Suggested Resources

  1. hypocrisy

    Song lyrics by hypocrisy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by hypocrisy on the Lyrics.com website.

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Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of hypocrisy in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of hypocrisy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of hypocrisy in a Sentence

  1. Simone de Beauvoir, The Second Sex (1950):

    When we abolish the slavery of half of humanity, together with the whole system of hypocrisy it implies, then the "division" of humanity will reveal its genuine significance and the human couple will find its true form.

  2. Anne Marie Schieber:

    John Gibbs made the site to provoke the left on campus and to draw attention to the hypocrisy of some modern-day feminists. It was nothing more than a college kid being over the top, of course, John Gibbs does not believe that women shouldn't vote or shouldn't work, and John Gibbs mother worked for thirty-three years for the Michigan Department of Transportation !

  3. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul:

    What I was upset with Jeb Bush was his hypocrisy.

  4. The Massachusetts Democrat:

    The issue where they lose me is hypocrisy, what I think is unacceptable is to vote a certain set of rules as an elected official and then to violate them yourself. But if you are a Democrat, Republican, whatever, and you vote to allow people to do what you do, then I have no demand that you become public.

  5. Hannah Arendt:

    What makes it so plausible to assume that hypocrisy is the vice of vices is that integrity can indeed exist under the cover of all other vices except this one. Only crime and the criminal, it is true, confront us with the perplexity of radical evil; but only the hypocrite is really rotten to the core.

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Translations for hypocrisy

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"hypocrisy." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 11 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/hypocrisy>.

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