Hypocrisy

From Greek "hypokrisis" (the playing of a part on stage, acting), from "hypokrites" (a stage actor, literally "one who answers"). The word migrated from the honest pretense of theater to the dishonest pretense of moral life.

  1. noun · /hi-POK-ruh-see/

    Professing beliefs, standards, or virtues one does not actually hold or practice.

    The gap between the mask and the face — condemning in others what one excuses in oneself.

    The senator’s speech on austerity was pure hypocrisy, delivered from a taxpayer-funded private jet.

    A hypocrite fails to practice what they preach; a mere liar misstates facts. Hypocrisy is specifically the distance between one’s stated values and one’s conduct.