Adjacent Words

Duplicity definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

DUPLICITY, n. [L., double.]
1. Doubleness; the number two.
2. Doubleness of heart or speech; the act or practice of exhibiting a different or contrary conduct, or uttering different or contrary sentiments, at different times, in relation to the same thing; or the act of dissembling ones real opinions for the purpose of concealing them and misleading persons in the conversation and intercourse of life; double-dealing; dissimulation; deceit.
3. In law, duplicity is the pleading of two or more distinct matters or single pleas.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a fraudulent or duplicitous representation [syn: fraudulence, duplicity]
2: acting in bad faith; deception by pretending to entertain one set of intentions while acting under the influence of another [syn: duplicity, double-dealing]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural -ties) Etymology: Middle English duplicite, from Middle French, from Late Latin duplicitat-, duplicitas, from Latin duplex Date: 15th century 1. contradictory doubleness of thought, speech, or action; especially the belying of one's true intentions by deceptive words or action 2. the quality or state of being double or twofold 3. the technically incorrect use of two or more distinct items (as claims, charges, or defenses) in a single legal action

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. 1 double-dealing; deceitfulness. 2 archaic doubleness. Derivatives: duplicitous adj. Etymology: ME f. OF duplicité or LL duplicitas (as DUPLEX)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Duplicity Du*plic"i*ty, n.; pl. Duplicities. [F. duplicit['e], L. duplicitas, fr. duplex double. See Duplex.] 1. Doubleness; a twofold state. [Archaic] Do not affect duplicities nor triplicities, nor any certain number of parts in your division of things. --I. Watts. 2. Doubleness of heart or speech; insincerity; a sustained form of deception which consists in entertaining or pretending to entertain one of feelings, and acting as if influenced by another; bad faith. Far from the duplicity wickedly charged on him, he acted his part with alacrity and resolution. --Burke.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you accuse someone of duplicity, you mean that they are deceitful. (FORMAL) Malcolm believed he was guilty of duplicity in his private dealings. = deceit

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

n. Dissimulation, chicanery, guile, deceit, deception, hypocrisy, circumvention, artifice, Machiavelism, double-dealing, falseness, fraud, perfidy, dishonesty.

Moby Thesaurus

Janus, Machiavellianism, ambidexterity, ambiguity, ambivalence, artfulness, artifice, bad faith, biformity, bifurcation, conjugation, craft, cunning, deceit, deceitfulness, dichotomy, dirty pool, dirty trick, dirty work, dishonesty, dissemblance, dissimulation, double-dealing, doubleness, doubleness of heart, doublethink, doubling, dualism, duality, duplexity, duplication, equivocality, faithlessness, falseheartedness, falseness, foul play, furtiveness, guile, halving, hypocrisy, improbity, indirection, insidiousness, irony, low cunning, pairing, perfidiousness, perfidy, polarity, shiftiness, sneak attack, sneakiness, surreptitiousness, treacherousness, treachery, twinning, two-facedness, twoness, underhandedness, wile