hypocritical

[hip-uh-krit-i-kuhl] / ˌhɪp əˈkrɪt ɪ kəl /

ADJECTIVE

deceitful, pretending

Synonyms

STRONGEST

deceptive duplicitous false insincere sanctimonious self-righteous unnatural

WEAK

affected artificial assuming bland canting captious caviling deluding dissembling double double-dealing faithless feigning fishy fraudulent glib hollow jivey left-handed lying moralistic oily pharisaical phony pietistic pious smooth smooth-spoken smooth-tongued snide specious spurious two-faced unctuous unreliable

Antonyms

STRONGEST

forthright frank genuine honest humble open real truthful

WEAK

actual authentic just reliable righteous sincere upright

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

"The finding of the jury confirms that this lawsuit was a hypocritical attempt to sabotage a competitor," OpenAI attorney William Savitt said outside the courthouse.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

"Beijing is also deeply suspicious of Takaichi and are likely to view her attempts to de-escalate without explicitly retracting her comments as hypocritical or, even worse, strategically deceptive," they added.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

Mom and dad are opting to scroll in secret lest they be accused of being hypocritical for telling their children to get off their screens.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 27, 2026

Why you should let it fade: While the film’s premise is novel and the franchise is known for its big swings, the very existence of “Toy Story 5” feels too hypocritical.

From Salon • Jan. 4, 2026

In a few years, I was not only penning columns, I was writing sports books, doing radio shows, and appearing regularly on TV, spouting my opinions on rich football players and hypocritical college sports programs.

From "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom

Vocabulary lists containing hypocritical

"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe

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"The Tell-Tale Heart," Vocabulary from the short story

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Fake It 'Til You Make It: Synonyms for "False"

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