All words

duplicity

Meaning

The quality or state of being two-faced or a double-dealer; exhibiting behavior that is characterized by an act of deception.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

When I learned about Lisa's duplicity, I felt shocked and hurt. She smiled at me and promised to help, but later I found out she told others something very different. Her words and actions did not match, and I realized I could not trust what she said.

He acted like my best friend, always smiling and offering to help me. That's why I was so shocked by his duplicity when I found out he was secretly trying to get me fired from my job. I still can’t believe he would do that.

Sarah smiled warmly at her coworker while complimenting her presentation, but the moment she left the room, Sarah told their boss the project was poorly done and suggested taking over. Her duplicity was clear to everyone who witnessed both conversations, and trust in her completely disappeared.

When Bob told his boss he loved working weekends, his face smiled, but his eyes found every exit sign in the building. Such duplicity made him the office champion of fake enthusiasm, winning the annual “Best Liar” award—though somehow, his dog still seemed to believe him.

The raccoon looked at me with its big, sad eyes, as if begging for forgiveness for raiding the trash. But when I turned my back, it tried to steal my wallet. This level of duplicity from a fluffy bandit was almost impressive.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

Sarah's duplicity was evident when she claimed to support her friend, but then spread rumors behind her back. Her two-faced behavior left everyone questioning her true intentions.

In the shadowy realm of politics, Senator Morgan's charisma masked a cunning duplicity. His speeches resonated with promises of unity, yet his underhanded dealings undermined those very sentiments. His true intentions remained elusive, hidden behind a facade of friendliness, concealing a complex web of deceit and ambition.

The old house was shrouded in darkness, its windows boarded up and its doors locked tight. It was said that the previous owners had been consumed by the duplicity of the place, driven mad by its twisted secrets. But despite the warnings, curious souls still ventured inside, drawn by the whispers of lost souls and forgotten treasures. As they crossed the threshold, they felt a chill run down their spine, a sense of foreboding that hinted at the malevolent forces at play. And as the shadows closed in around them, they realized too late the true nature of the house's duplicity.

The creature's exterior was that of an innocent lamb, but its eyes held a sly cunning. Its words were sweet as honey, but its claws were sharp as knives. It smiled as it approached, but its heart was filled with poison. Its duplicity was a weapon, a mask to hide its true nature. And as it drew closer, its dark intentions became clear.

In the kingdom of Eldoria, the sorceress Lilith was known for her cunning ways. With a smile as sweet as honey, she would weave spells of duplicity, fooling those around her into believing her every word. But beneath her charming facade lay a heart as black as night, filled with deceit and malice. The people whispered of her treacherous ways, but none dared to confront her, for fear of her wrath. Little did they know that her true intentions were far more sinister than they could imagine. And so, the dark shadow of duplicity loomed over the land, casting a pall of suspicion and fear over all who dwelt there.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

After months of trust, Anna felt betrayed when she discovered Mark’s duplicity. He had promised loyalty to her in private, but his actions and words around others told a different story. The pain came not from what he said, but from what he truly meant to hide.

He assured me he would support my plan, smiling while he shook my hand. I felt betrayed listening to him criticize my every point in the meeting. I was stunned by his duplicity; his friendly act was a deliberate lie to hide his own ambition.

Sarah smiled warmly while assuring her business partner the company was thriving, but she'd already transferred funds to her private account and booked a one-way flight to Mexico. Her duplicity became clear only when employees arrived Monday morning to find the office completely emptied and locks changed.

When Claire complimented Martha’s hideous lasagna while subtly pushing it to the edge of her plate, the duplicity was clear: her cheerful words danced one way, while her fork staged a quiet rebellion, desperately searching for an escape route beneath an unconvincing smile.

My parrot swore he adored my new haircut, calling it “a magnificent triumph of style.” His duplicity was revealed, however, when I later overheard him describing it to the cat as a “truly unfortunate nest of twigs” before they both broke into villainous, squawking laughter.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

Sarah felt betrayed when she discovered Mark’s duplicity. He spoke warmly to her face, promising support, but secretly campaigned against her promotion. The contradiction between his actions and words made his true intentions unmistakable, revealing a cold calculation masked by insincere kindness.

His unctuous reassurances could not allay my fears. I sensed a chilling duplicity in his saccharine words, a stark contradiction to the company's bleak financial reports. His attempt to obfuscate the truth simply confirmed my suspicions about his motives.

Sarah smiled warmly at the board meeting, praising Marcus's proposal with genuine enthusiasm. Later, in the parking garage, she told three colleagues she'd voted against it. Her duplicity became apparent when Marcus discovered she had quietly lobbied the CEO to reject his entire project while maintaining their supposed friendship.

After months of saccharine compliments and orchestrated concern, Gerald’s duplicity at the office Christmas party was finally unmasked when he simultaneously congratulated Linda on her promotion while surreptitiously updating his résumé under the flickering glow of the eggnog station, revealing his contradictory doubleness in spectacular, catastrophic fashion.

My friend delivered a soporific monologue on his abstemious, kale-centric diet. I might have believed his ostensible piety, were it not for the brazen duplicity of his speech, betrayed by the powdered sugar from a clandestine donut festooning his rather garish ascot.

Difficulty

Advanced — Less frequent words that stretch an upper-level vocabulary.

Appears in

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