hypocrisy

C1 Topic:Actions & Processes

US /hɪˈpɑkɹəsi/ UK /hɪˈpɒkɹəsi/ See IPA manual

Freq #15035

Meanings

1

noun
The act of pretending to have beliefs or standards that you do not actually follow.

It is pure hypocrisy to lecture others about honesty while lying yourself.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

hypocriticalityhypocriticalness

Word family

Forms hypocrisies

Related forms hypocritehypocritichypocritical hypocritically

Etymology

From hypo- + Ancient Greek κρί(σις) (krí(sis)) + -isy. From Middle English ipocrisie, from Old French ypocrisie, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Ancient Greek ὑπόκρισις (hupókrisis, “answer, stage acting, pretense”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai, “I answer (a fellow actor on stage), play a part, dissemble, feign”), from ὑπό (hupó, “under, equivalent of the modern "hypo-" prefix”) + the middle voice of κρίνω (krínō, “I separate, judge, decide”) + -isy. Displaced native Old English līċettung.

*krey- Proto-Indo-European ipocrisie Middle English ypocrisie Old French hypocrisis la-lat ὑπόκρισις Ancient Greek

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes Word Formation & Derivatives

External links

# hypocrisy

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /hɪˈpɑkɹəsi/
**IPA (UK):** /hɪˈpɒkɹəsi/
**Frequency rank:** 15035

## Meanings
1. The act of pretending to have beliefs or standards that you do not actually follow.

## Examples
- It is pure hypocrisy to lecture others about honesty while lying yourself.

## Synonyms
- hypocriticality
- hypocriticalness

## Related Forms
- hypocrite
- hypocritic
- hypocritical
- hypocritically

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *krey-
- Root: ipocrisie
- Root: ypocrisie
- Root: hypocrisis
- Root: ὑπόκρισις

## Etymology
From hypo- + Ancient Greek κρί(σις) (krí(sis)) + -isy. From Middle English ipocrisie, from Old French ypocrisie, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Ancient Greek ὑπόκρισις (hupókrisis, “answer, stage acting, pretense”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai, “I answer (a fellow actor on stage), play a part, dissemble, feign”), from ὑπό (hupó, “under, equivalent of the modern "hypo-" prefix”) + the middle voice of κρίνω (krínō, “I separate, judge, decide”) + -isy. Displaced native Old English līċettung.

## AI Etymology
Hypocrisy is from hypo- + Ancient Greek κρί(σις) (krí(sis)) + -isy. From Middle English ipocrisie, from Old French ypocrisie, from Late Latin hypocrisis, from Ancient Greek ὑπόκρισις (hupókrisis, “answer, stage acting, pretense”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai, “I answer (a fellow actor on stage), play a part, dissemble, feign”), from ὑπό (hupó, “under, equivalent of the modern "hypo-" prefix”) + the middle voice of κρίνω (krínō, “I separate, judge, decide”) + -isy. Displaced native Old English līċettung. In present-day use, it means the act of pretending to have beliefs or standards that you do not actually follow. Related vocabulary includes hypocrite, hypocritic, hypocritical, and hypocritically.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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