From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishhypocrisyhy‧poc‧ri‧sy /hɪˈpɒkrəsi $ -ˈpɑː-/ ●○○ noun [uncountable] PRETENDwhen someone pretends to have certain beliefs or opinions that they do not really have – used to show disapproval OPP sincerity It would be sheer hypocrisy to pray for success, since I’ve never believed in God.
Examples from the Corpus
hypocrisy• There are those who can embrace this as a sort of liberation from convention and hypocrisy.• That sums up the cynical hypocrisy and political opportunism of Labour.• But the only abuse practiced on Capitol Hill right now is an abuse of the laws of hypocrisy.• I am painfully aware of how we get caught up in our times and become contaminated by our own hypocrisy.• A strong sense of right and wrong inspired paintings satirizing puritan hypocrisy and the destruction of wildlife.• The hypocrisy is the pretense that the players are scholars whose colleges are competing for the glory of it all.• To them, hypocrisy is aggravated assault by other means.Origin hypocrisy (1100-1200) Old French ypocrisie, from Greek hypokrisis “act of playing a part on stage, hypocrisy” 