hypocritical
/hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/adjective
hypocritical is spelled H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-I-C-A-L: 12 letters and 5 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, hypocritical means “Characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in hypocritical?
| Letters | 12: H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-I-C-A-L |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 5 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hypocritical?
Hypocritical appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hypocritical?
- /hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/
Hypocritical has 5 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-hypocritical.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hypocritical
- more hypocritical comparative
- most hypocritical superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hypocritical mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite.
Near-synonyms: double-faced, two-faced, Janus-faced, duplicitous (these denote intentional deception)
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hypocritical in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | hypocrite |
| German | heuchlerisch, gleisnerisch |
| Portuguese | hipócrita |
| Spanish | mocho, hipócrita |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hypocritical come from?
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”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).