hypocritical

hypocritical — adjective

1. used about a person, their words, or their actions when the way they behave does

1.形容詞C2
釋義

used about a person, their words, or their actions when the way they behave does not match the moral values they say they believe in — for example, calling for honesty while lying to others themselves.

例句

It is hypocritical of a politician to demand honesty while hiding campaign money.

pattern: it is hypocritical of [sb] to [do]

Diego found his roommate's behavior hypocritical because she complained about noise but played loud music.

pattern: find + noun + hypocritical

同義詞
  • insincere

    Broader; can describe any lack of genuine feeling (apology, compliment), not specifically moral claims

  • two-faced

    Informal; emphasizes saying different things to different people behind their backs

  • sanctimonious

    Adds the flavour of self-righteous moral display; a sanctimonious person acts morally superior to others

  • deceitful

    Stronger; implies an active intention to mislead or cheat, not just inconsistency

反義詞
  • sincere

    Straightforward opposite — words and feelings match

  • genuine

    Authentic; not pretending

  • consistent

    Actions align with stated values

文法句型

it is hypocritical of [someone] to [do something]

find [someone/something] + hypocritical

view/see [something] as hypocritical

用法筆記

Commonly used with the dummy-it construction ('it is hypocritical of somebody to do something') and as a predicative complement ('find/view something as hypocritical'). Also frequent in attributive position before nouns like behavior, statement, attitude, or promise.

常見錯誤

❌His actions are hypocritical because they contradict what he said earlier.
✅His actions are hypocritical because he claims to value honesty but lies to his coworkers.
💡Being hypocritical requires a gap between claimed moral beliefs and actual behavior, not just any inconsistency.
❌She is very hypocritical with her friends.
✅She is very hypocritical toward her friends.
💡The standard preposition is of (it is hypocritical of her) or toward, not with.