hypocritical

C1 Topic:Describing Qualities

US /hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/ See IPA manual

Freq #18906

Meanings

1

adj
Behaving in a way that contradicts the beliefs or standards you claim to have.

It felt hypocritical of him to criticize smoking while lighting a cigarette.

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Synonyms

1 adj · behaving in a way that... two-faced

From hypocritic + -al, from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτικός (hupokritikós), from ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs, “actor, hypocrite”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai, “I play a part on stage”), from ὑπό (hupó, “below”) + κρίνω (krínō, “I choose”).

*krey- Proto-Indo-European ὑποκριτικός Ancient Greek

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Describing Qualities Word Formation & Derivatives

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# hypocritical

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C1
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/
**Frequency rank:** 18906

## Meanings
1. Behaving in a way that contradicts the beliefs or standards you claim to have.

## Examples
- It felt hypocritical of him to criticize smoking while lighting a cigarette.

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: *krey-
- Root: ὑποκριτικός

## Etymology
From hypocritic + -al, from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτικός (hupokritikós), from ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs, “actor, hypocrite”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai, “I play a part on stage”), from ὑπό (hupó, “below”) + κρίνω (krínō, “I choose”).

## AI Etymology
Hypocritical is from hypocritic + -al, from Ancient Greek ὑποκριτικός (hupokritikós), from ὑποκριτής (hupokritḗs, “actor, hypocrite”), from ὑποκρίνομαι (hupokrínomai, “I play a part on stage”), from ὑπό (hupó, “below”) + κρίνω (krínō, “I choose”). In present-day use, it means behaving in a way that contradicts the beliefs or standards you claim to have.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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hypocritical

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