hypocrisy

/hɪˈpɒkɹəsi/

//hɪˈpɒkɹəsi// noun

"hypocrisy" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hypocrisy” has 15 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #12,074. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#12,074
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
15
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs; hence in general sense, dissimu...

Corpus desk

Index EN-hypocrisy · hypocrisy · English

hypocrisy · rank #12,074 · 15 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #12,074
  • LEN-LONG 9 letters
  • VOW-4 4 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 15 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hugely

Nearest frequency peer: hugely (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “hypocrisy”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “hypocrisy” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hypocrisy vs hypocrite
78% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hypocrisy
PropertyValue
Headwordhypocrisy
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɪˈpɒkɹəsi/
Letters9
Frequency rank#12,074
Misspellings tracked15
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hypocrisy”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).hypocrisylands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “hugely” (#12,073), “imagining” (#12,075), “inaccurate” (#12,076). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hypocrisy” is #12,074. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 15 spelling variants around hypocrisy (IPA /hɪˈpɒkɹəsi/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #12,074 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Wiktionary lists 4 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 15 likely wrong-spelling variants for hypocrisy, with forms such as "hhypocrisy", "hpyocrisy", and "hyopcrisy". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "hypocrite", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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 answ… The correct English form is hypocrisy, spelled H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y.

Definition

  1. 1
    The contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs; hence in general sense, dissimulation, pretence, sham.
  2. 2
    The claim or pretense of having beliefs, standards, qualities, behaviours, virtues, motivations, etc. which one does not really have.
  3. 3
    The practice of engaging in the same behaviour or activity for which one criticises another; moral self-contradiction whereby the behavior of one or more people belies their own claimed or implied possession of certain beliefs, standards or virtues.
  4. 4
    An instance of hypocrisy.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how hypocrisy appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. political hypocrisy
  2. He condemned the hypocrisy of politicians who broke their own laws.

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.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhypocrisy
  • hpyocrisy
  • hyopcrisy
  • hypcorisy
  • hypoccrisy
  • hypocirsy
  • hypocrissy
  • hypocrisyy
  • hypocriys
  • hypocrrisy
  • hypocrsiy
  • hyporcisy
  • hyppocrisy
  • hyypocrisy
  • yhpocrisy

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hypocrisy - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.

hhypocrisy1hpyocrisy2hyopcrisy2hypcorisy2hypoccrisy1hypocirsy2hypocrissy1hypocrisyy1
Edit distance from "hypocrisy"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hypocrisy"?
"hypocrisy" is spelled H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-S-Y. The IPA pronunciation is /hɪˈpɒkɹəsi/.
What does "hypocrisy" mean?
As a noun, "hypocrisy" means: The contrivance of a false appearance of virtue or goodness, while concealing real character or inclinations, especially with respect to religious and moral beliefs; hence in general sense, dissimu...
What words are commonly confused with "hypocrisy"?
"hypocrisy" is commonly confused with "hypocrite". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hypocrisy"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hypocrisy" is /hɪˈpɒkɹəsi/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hypocrisy"?
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 (hupokrínoma... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "hypocrisy", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 9 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (15 here; floor ≥5).

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list