Sunday, November 05, 2006

this word has been thrown around a lot lately...

hyp‧o‧crite  /ˈhɪpəkrɪt/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[hip-uh-krit]
-noun

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.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.0.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

If somebody really does have an honest belief in a moral principle, even if he is known to have failed, this doesnt disapprove his possession of this principle. What it proves is that men sometimes fail.

5 comments:

Aethlos said...

put more simply: a hypocrite is someone who doesn't practice what he preaches. Most Perfect Current Example: Ted Haggard.

Gino said...

ok aethlos,
does an occasional failing make you a hypocrite?

Andy said...

If once a month for three years counts as "occasional," then, no.

Gino said...

awright,awright,andy....
you've obviously been following the story closely.
i left it behind last week.

Anonymous said...

Ah, he's just not a hypocrite at the moment, (since he got caught)now that he's quit preaching and pretending. lol! One can be a reformed hypocrite. :) But that remains to be seen.

Trisha