Words / C1

hi-POKR-uh-see/hɪˈpɒkrəsi/

Hypocrisy is claiming moral standards your behaviour does not match: accuse someone of hypocrisy, rank hypocrisy. Hypocrite is the person; hypocritical is the adjective. Inconsistency can be non-moral. Irony (later lists) is a twist of meaning, not the same. Do not cry hypocrisy at every change of mind after new evidence.

Meaning

Claiming to have moral standards that your own behaviour does not match.

Examples

• “Praising “wellbeing” while deleting rest days is hypocrisy.”
• “A wellbeing slide beside deleted rest days was hypocrisy, not a branding error.”
• “A hypocrite preaches what they will not do; a person who updates a view after data is not one.”

Good to know

Moral double standard. Person: hypocrite. Adjective: hypocritical. Contrast: changing your mind with evidence. Not mere inconsistency.

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