tartuffery
Sanctimonious false virtue
Tartuffery is religious or moral hypocrisy—pious posturing that masks self-interest or vice.
The word comes from Tartuffe, the sanctimonious fraud in Molière's 1664 comedy.
It suggests not just hypocrisy but theatrical displays of virtue: The senator's family-values speeches were pure tartuffery, given his affairs.
Feigned moral superiority
- cantSanctimonious insincerity
- pietySincere religious devotion
- insincerityLack of genuine feeling
- phoninessQuality of being insincere
two-facedness · falseness · dissembling · pietism · lip-service · moralizing · self-righteousness · preachiness
Deliberate misleading behavior
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
- conArgument against
swindle · trickery · flimflam · bamboozlement · hoodwinking · manipulation · deceit · fraud
Deceptive outward appearance
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- charadeAbsurd or obvious pretense
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
- guiseExternal manner shown
feigning · dissimulation · veneer · playacting · simulation · pose · artifice · show
sanctimony
Feigned moral superiority
- cantSanctimonious insincerity
- pietySincere religious devotion
- insincerityLack of genuine feeling
phoniness · two-facedness · falseness · dissembling · pietism · lip-service · moralizing · self-righteousness · preachiness · holier-than-thou
duplicity
Deliberate misleading behavior
- guileSly, strategic dishonesty
- subterfugeDeliberate deception to conceal
- chicaneryDeception through clever manipulation
con · swindle · trickery · flimflam · bamboozlement · hoodwinking · manipulation · deceit · fraud · hoax
facade
Deceptive outward appearance
- masqueradeDeceptive act or costume party
- charadeAbsurd or obvious pretense
- affectationArtificial behavior for effect
guise · feigning · dissimulation · veneer · playacting · simulation · pose · artifice · show · imposture
tartufferytrue faith
Authentic spiritual commitment
moral integrity · devoutness · saintliness · godliness · uprightness
tartufferysincerity
Honest, unfeigned genuineness
candor · honesty · authenticity · genuineness · forthrightness