Duplicitous

printer friendly format

(pronounced doo-plis-ih-tus or dyoo-plis-ih-tus; "oo" pronounced as in "boot" and not as in "book" ) adjective

Definition

from the noun duplicity.

Duplicity (pronounced doo-plis-ih-tee or dyoo-plis-ih-tee) = 1. deliberate deception in speech or conduct; action contradictory to one's declared intentions; double-dealing. 2. the quality or state of being double or twofold.

Main Example

• On this tenth anniversary of the "Arab Spring," let's quickly review how Tahrir Square became the crucible of the "revolution" in Egypt, a nation where, for decades, no mass protests had been able to crystallize because of then-President Mubarak's repressive and brutal secret police. According to a February 2011 story in The Wall Street Journal, some young activists, using a good bit of imagination and duplicity, misled the police and got the ball rolling. Specifically, the opposition organized protests for Jan. 25 (the first day of the eventually successful revolt) at 21 sites scattered across Cairo, the names of 20 of which were publicly announced, thus ensuring that Mubarak's security apparatus would concentrate at those places. The name of the 21st protest site--a spot near Tahrir Square--was kept secret. By the time the police arrived at Tahrir in strength, the place was already a boiling cauldron.

Workplace Examples

• While it's true that this scheme which Harvey championed so fervently is a failure, and that our investment is a total loss, let's be clear on one thing: contrary to the rumors going around, Harvey did not promote this idea out of any personal or hidden agenda. He was not being deceptive or duplicitous in any way. His fault lies in having been much too naive and unrealistic...in being Pollyannaish.
• Why, it was just last week that Nicole came into my office and expressed a lot of enthusiasm for the goals I've set for the department. So the fact that she has been overheard snickering and speaking mockingly about my plans is really duplicitous of her.

Other Examples

• somebody whom you regard as being extremely straightforward and simply incapable of duplicity
• one of the main causes of the financial crisis of 2007-2008, according to some of the most respected economists in their field, including Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz: the errors in judgment and duplicities of the nation's credit rating agencies
• Tab Hunter, the young matinee idol of the 1950s whose image as a sex symbol was promoted so intensely that he received over 50,000 valentines in a single year, telling CBS a few years before he passed away in 2018 that he had been duplicitous all along--that the portrayal of him as an eligible heartthrob dating the most famous young actresses of the day was just a facade because he was actually gay, having relationships with the likes of actor Tony Perkins and ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev
• the many years of duplicity by FBI spy Robert Hanssen which cost our nation dearly: his treachery helped blow the cover of numerous U.S. spies who, consequently, were executed by the Soviet KGB
• While investigating Merrill Lynch and other Wall Street firms as New York's attorney general (1999-2006), Eliot Spitzer found analysts to be engaging in stunningly duplicitous behavior. Several stocks that were being accorded the highest possible buy rating were being described, in internal company-emails, as "a piece of junk" or worse.

© 2021 V.J. Singal
No part of this may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the author.

This Month's Other Words

To help you sharply enhance your vocabulary

The Articulate Professional -- 3rd Edition
Click here for features and sample pages, or place an order.

Copyright © 1999 - 2021 by V.J. Singal. Articulate is a registered trademark.
Questions or comments may be sent directly to the author.
Phone: 281-463-2500, Houston, TX, @VJSingal1