hypocritical

/hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/

//hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hypocritical" is a 12-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hypocritical” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #19,363. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#19,363
frequency rank, English
2,646
“H” headwords
19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite.

Corpus desk

Index EN-hypocritical · hypocritical · English

hypocritical · rank #19,363 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #19,363
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-MID 2,646
  • PHOTO-FINISH hydra

Nearest frequency peer: hydra (-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 “hypocritical”

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

corpus weight

What this shows “hypocritical” 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
Key facts for hypocritical
PropertyValue
Headwordhypocritical
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/
Letters12
Frequency rank#19,363
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “hypocritical”

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).hypocriticallands here:

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

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “hydra” (#19,362), “illustrious” (#19,364), “incidental” (#19,365). Among 2,646 “H” headwords, “hypocritical” is #19,363. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around hypocritical (IPA /hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #19,363 among 2,646 “H” headwords. Dominant gloss: "Characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite.".

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for hypocritical, with forms such as "hhypocritical", "hpyocritical", and "hyopcritical". 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 is not paired with a close-neighbour confusable in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.

Etymologically, the entry records: 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”). The correct English form is hypocritical, spelled H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-I-C-A-L.

Definition

  1. 1
    Characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

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

  1. The British Empire was in a somewhat-hypocritical position when it came to slavery. Due to the fact that most other nations were at war with the Empire and the Royal Navy controlled the seas, most slavers were flying British flags. However, slavery in England had been banned hundreds of years before, in 1102, with periodic court cases reaffirming this thr…
  2. [Stephen] Miller’s uncle, a neuroscientist, has been welcomed onto the public stage for his denunciations of his nephew’s immigration policies, which the elder Miller has characterized as hypocritical: the Millers’ not-so-distant Jewish ancestors were, of course, immigrants themselves.

Etymology

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”).

Synonyms

two-faced

This word in other languages

mocho(Español)hypocrite(Français)heuchlerisch(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • hhypocritical
  • hpyocritical
  • hyopcritical
  • hypcoritical
  • hypoccritical
  • hypocirtical
  • hypocriitcal
  • hypocritcial
  • hypocritiacl
  • hypocriticall
  • hypocriticcal
  • hypocriticla
  • hypocrittical
  • hypocrritical
  • hypocrtiical
  • hyporcitical
  • hyppocritical
  • hyypocritical
  • yhpocritical

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of hypocritical - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

hhypocritical1hpyocritical2hyopcritical2hypcoritical2hypoccritical1hypocirtical2hypocriitcal2hypocritcial2
Edit distance from "hypocritical"

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 "hypocritical"?
"hypocritical" is spelled H-Y-P-O-C-R-I-T-I-C-A-L. The IPA pronunciation is /hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/.
What does "hypocritical" mean?
As an adjective, "hypocritical" means: Characterized by hypocrisy or being a hypocrite.
What are common misspellings of "hypocritical"?
Common misspellings include "hhypocritical", "hpyocritical", "hyopcritical", "hypcoritical", "hypoccritical". The correct spelling is "hypocritical".
How do you pronounce "hypocritical"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hypocritical" is /hɪpəˈkɹɪtɪkəl/. 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 "hypocritical"?
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”). 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 "hypocritical", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 12 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dissatisfied#19,314denomination#19,309complication#19,294attributable#19,266

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

visualization19 variantsconservatory19 variantsfermentation19 variantsStaffordshire19 variants

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

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list