duplicity
Two-faced treachery here
Duplicity is deliberate deception—saying one thing while meaning or doing another.
Unlike simple lying, duplicity implies a sustained pattern of two-facedness: His duplicity was revealed when the emails surfaced.
The word suggests calculated betrayal of trust rather than momentary dishonesty.
A person acting with duplicity maintains one appearance while secretly pursuing contrary ends.
Pretense of virtue
- insincerityLack of genuine feeling
- false friendDeceptive apparent ally
- Janus-facedHaving contradictory aspects
- phoninessQuality of being insincere
pretense · facade · double-dealing · double life · dual nature · wolf in sheep's clothing · fair-weather · mask
Deliberate misleading of others
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- trickeryDeliberate deception or fraud
chicanery · artifice · dissembling · manipulation · fraudulence · misrepresentation · prevarication · falsification
Deliberate violation of trust
- backstabbingCovert betrayal of trust
- perfidyDeliberate breach of trust
- disloyaltyBreach of allegiance
- double-crossTreacherous deception of partner
unfaithfulness · infidelity · breach of trust · sellout · defection · treason · Judas · turncoat
Devising a secret plan
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- intrigueSecret plotting or fascination
- machinationCrafty scheming, often hostile
- stratagemDeceptive plan for advantage
conspiracy · collusion · ruse · ploy · gambit · calculated · ulterior motive · hidden agenda
hypocrisy
Pretense of virtue
- insincerityLack of genuine feeling
- false friendDeceptive apparent ally
- Janus-facedHaving contradictory aspects
phoniness · pretense · facade · double-dealing · double life · dual nature · wolf in sheep's clothing · fair-weather · mask · false face
deceit
Deliberate misleading of others
- dishonestyDisposition toward falsehood
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
trickery · chicanery · artifice · dissembling · manipulation · fraudulence · misrepresentation · prevarication · falsification · underhandedness
treachery
Deliberate violation of trust
- backstabbingCovert betrayal of trust
- perfidyDeliberate breach of trust
- disloyaltyBreach of allegiance
double-cross · unfaithfulness · infidelity · breach of trust · sellout · defection · treason · Judas · turncoat · traitor
plotting
Devising a secret plan
- connivingSecretly planning wrongdoing
- intrigueSecret plotting or fascination
- machinationCrafty scheming, often hostile
stratagem · conspiracy · collusion · ruse · ploy · gambit · calculated · ulterior motive · hidden agenda · master plan
scam
Dishonest money-making scheme
charlatan · impostor · counterfeit · sham · flimflam · grift · confidence trick · snake oil · quackery · mountebank
duplicityhonesty
Truthfulness, sincerity
sincerity · truthfulness · candor · frankness · forthrightness
duplicityintegrity
Moral soundness and consistency
trustworthiness · honesty · uprightness · probity · rectitude
duplicityguilelessness
Absence of cunning
sincerity · artlessness · ingenuousness · genuineness · authenticity