Hypocrite definition

hĭpə-krĭt

Words form:

Frequency:

A person who pretends to be what he or she is not; specif., one who pretends to be pious, virtuous, etc. without really being so.

noun

115

The definition of a hypocrite is a person who pretends to have certain beliefs, attitudes or feelings when they really do not.

An example of a hypocrite is a person who says they care about the environment, but are constantly littering.

noun

Someone who practices hypocrisy, who pretends to hold beliefs, or whose actions are not consistent with their claimed beliefs. [from early 13th c.]

noun

A person given to hypocrisy.

noun

Other Word Forms

Singular:

hypocrite

Plural:

hypocrites

Middle English ipocrite from Old French from Late Latin hypocrita from Greek hupokritēs actor from hupokrīnesthai to play a part, pretend hypocrisy

From American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition
Old French ypocrite (Modern French hypocrite), from Ecclesiastical Latin hypocrita, from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτής (hupokritēs, “actor, hypocrite”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrinomai, “I answer, act, feign”).

From Wiktionary