Meaning & use
hypocrite
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Meaning
nouncountabledisapproving
Someone who tells others to follow rules or values that they do not follow themselves.
Grammar: Often used as a direct accusation: you are a hypocrite.
Patterns
- a hypocrite about something
- call someone a hypocrite
He lectures everyone about saving energy, yet he leaves every light on, so he is a hypocrite.
I would be a hypocrite if I demanded honesty and then lied myself.
Critics called the mayor a hypocrite for attacking waste while enjoying free trips.
Word forms
| plural | hypocrites |
|---|
Common combinations
- call someone a hypocrite
- She called her boss a hypocrite for breaking his own rule.
- a rank hypocrite
- He turned out to be a rank hypocrite who preached thrift and lived lavishly.
- a self-righteous hypocrite
- Nobody enjoys the company of a self-righteous hypocrite.
- accused of being a hypocrite
- The speaker was accused of being a hypocrite after the photos surfaced.
- feel like a hypocrite
- I felt like a hypocrite telling him to exercise while I sat on the sofa.
Synonyms and how they differ
- phony
- Phony is informal and stresses being fake in general, while hypocrite stresses a gap between stated and actual morals.
- pharisee
- Pharisee is a literary term for a self-righteous, outwardly pious person and is rarer than hypocrite.
- double-dealer
- Double-dealer suggests deliberate deception of others, while hypocrite focuses on mismatched standards.
- two-faced person
- Two-faced describes someone who shows different attitudes to different people, not necessarily a mismatch between preaching and doing.
Opposites
Word family
- hypocrisy noun
- the act of pretending to hold standards you do not follow
- hypocritical adjective
- showing hypocrisy
- hypocritically adverb
- in a hypocritical way
Commonly confused: hypocrite or liar?
hypocrite vs liar
A liar says false things, while a hypocrite may be sincere in words but fails to live by them.
Practice
Which person is best described as a hypocrite?
Choose one answer.
A hypocrite condemns a behavior while doing it. A single accidental lapse, an honest confession and a change of mind are not the same kind of double standard.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “hypocrite”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.