[hip-uh-krit] 
| 1. | a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, esp. a person whose actions belie stated beliefs. |
| 2. | a person who feigns some desirable or publicly approved attitude, esp. one whose private life, opinions, or statements belie his or her public statements. |
s a stage actor, hence one who pretends to be what he is not, equiv. to hypokr
(nesthai) (see hypocrisy ) + -tēs agent suffix
| hyp·o·crite (hĭp'ə-krĭt') n. A person given to hypocrisy. [Middle English ipocrite, from Old French, from Late Latin hypocrita, from Greek hupocritēs, actor, from hupokrīnesthai, to play a part, pretend; see hypocrisy.] |
Hypocrite
one who puts on a mask and feigns himself to be what he is not; a dissembler in religion. Our Lord severely rebuked the scribes and Pharisees for their hypocrisy (Matt. 6:2, 5, 16). "The hypocrite's hope shall perish" (Job 8:13). The Hebrew word here rendered "hypocrite" rather means the "godless" or "profane," as it is rendered in Jer. 23:11, i.e., polluted with crimes.