Tuesday word: Duplicitous
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1word1dayTuesday, March 10, 2026
Duplicitous (adjective)
duplicitous [doo-plis-i-tuhs, dyoo-]
adjective
1. marked or characterized by duplicity.
Other Word Forms
duplicitously adverb
Related Words
cheating, deceitful, dishonest
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Usage
What does duplicitous mean? Duplicitous is used to describe someone who intentionally misleads people, especially by saying different things to different people or acting in different ways at different times. The word can also describe the actions of such a person. A close synonym is deceitful. A more informal synonym is double-dealing (which can also be used as a noun).To be duplicitous is to engage in duplicity, which refers to the practice of misleading someone in this way, to the quality of a person who does this, or to an instance of such deception. People who are liars are duplicitous. The word is based on the idea of presenting two or more different versions of oneself or of a situation. Fittingly, duplicitous people are often accused of being two-faced or of “speaking out of both sides of their mouth.” This typically means that they say different things to different people (in other words, they lie) in order to serve their agenda. Less commonly, duplicitous can describe something that has two elements or parts. This sense of duplicitous does not have the same negative implication as the primary sense of the word. Example: I’ve never met someone more duplicitous—he says one thing and then turns around and says the complete opposite, barely trying to conceal the lie.
Origin: First recorded in 1955–60; duplicit(y) + -ous
Example Sentences
The actor could easily put his skills to use playing a duplicitous sociopath in a psychological drama, but as a comedy “Killing” is simply dead.
From The Wall Street Journal
Carl’s duplicitous behavior, meanwhile, leads Roy to think his brother is planning to make him the fall guy for their mutual misdeeds.
From The Wall Street Journal
He also frequently bewails the exchange of his “real life” as a travel writer for his shadow-self as a spy, a predicament which he finds “fraught, annoying, perplexing, duplicitous.”
From The Wall Street Journal
Unlike the duplicitous characters it centers on, "Yellowjackets" introduced itself in its 2021 premiere as exactly what it is, a show about the worst.
From Salon
He countersued last week, claiming she had made a "duplicitous attempt to destroy" him.
From BBC
Duplicitous (adjective)
duplicitous [doo-plis-i-tuhs, dyoo-]
adjective
1. marked or characterized by duplicity.
Other Word Forms
duplicitously adverb
Related Words
cheating, deceitful, dishonest
See more synonyms on Thesaurus.com
Usage
What does duplicitous mean? Duplicitous is used to describe someone who intentionally misleads people, especially by saying different things to different people or acting in different ways at different times. The word can also describe the actions of such a person. A close synonym is deceitful. A more informal synonym is double-dealing (which can also be used as a noun).To be duplicitous is to engage in duplicity, which refers to the practice of misleading someone in this way, to the quality of a person who does this, or to an instance of such deception. People who are liars are duplicitous. The word is based on the idea of presenting two or more different versions of oneself or of a situation. Fittingly, duplicitous people are often accused of being two-faced or of “speaking out of both sides of their mouth.” This typically means that they say different things to different people (in other words, they lie) in order to serve their agenda. Less commonly, duplicitous can describe something that has two elements or parts. This sense of duplicitous does not have the same negative implication as the primary sense of the word. Example: I’ve never met someone more duplicitous—he says one thing and then turns around and says the complete opposite, barely trying to conceal the lie.
Origin: First recorded in 1955–60; duplicit(y) + -ous
Example Sentences
The actor could easily put his skills to use playing a duplicitous sociopath in a psychological drama, but as a comedy “Killing” is simply dead.
From The Wall Street Journal
Carl’s duplicitous behavior, meanwhile, leads Roy to think his brother is planning to make him the fall guy for their mutual misdeeds.
From The Wall Street Journal
He also frequently bewails the exchange of his “real life” as a travel writer for his shadow-self as a spy, a predicament which he finds “fraught, annoying, perplexing, duplicitous.”
From The Wall Street Journal
Unlike the duplicitous characters it centers on, "Yellowjackets" introduced itself in its 2021 premiere as exactly what it is, a show about the worst.
From Salon
He countersued last week, claiming she had made a "duplicitous attempt to destroy" him.
From BBC
