Definition

1. Noun:
   • Deliberate deceptiveness in behavior or speech; double-dealing: The quality of being deceitful, acting in a way that hides one's true intentions or feelings.
   • The state of being double or twofold; doubleness: An archaic or formal meaning referring to the quality of being double in nature.

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The negotiations failed due to the other party's duplicity. (The failure was caused by their deceptive double-dealing.)
  • She was accused of duplicity for telling one story to me and a completely different one to my boss. (She was charged with deceitfulness for presenting contradictory accounts.)
  • In the old tale, the spy's success relied on his duplicity. (The spy's effectiveness depended on his deceptive double life.)

Advanced Usage

• "Duplicity of purpose": Having two conflicting intentions or motives, often where the stated one is false.
  • The charity's actions revealed a duplicity of purpose, claiming to help while secretly profiting.
• Legal/Judicial Context: Often used to describe fraudulent or bad-faith conduct in contracts or official dealings.
  • The contract was voided on grounds of duplicity and misrepresentation.

Variants and Related Words

• Duplicitous (adj): Characterized by duplicity; deceitful.
  • He was a duplicitous character, never to be trusted.
• Duplicate (adj, n, v): While related etymologically (from the idea of "double"), this word primarily means an exact copy and does not carry the negative connotation of deception.

Synonyms

• Deceit: The action or practice of deceiving someone.
• Deception: The act of hiding the truth, especially to gain an advantage.
• Double-dealing: Cheating or deceitful behavior, especially in a relationship that requires trust.
• Fraudulence: The quality of being deceitful or dishonest for personal gain.
• Two-facedness: Informal term for duplicity, suggesting someone shows one face to one person and another to someone else.

Antonyms

• Honesty: The quality of being truthful and straightforward.
• Candor: The quality of being open and honest in expression; frankness.
• Sincerity: The quality of being free from pretense, deceit, or hypocrisy.
• Forthrightness: Direct and outspoken; straightforward.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• To speak with a forked tongue: To lie or be deliberately deceptive. (This idiom is conceptually similar to duplicity.)
  • Do not trust him; he speaks with a forked tongue.
• To play a double game: To deceive people by having two conflicting sets of plans or loyalties.
  • The agent was playing a double game, spying for both countries.

Noun

1. acting in bad faith; deception by pretending to entertain one set of intentions while acting under the influence of another
2. a fraudulent or duplicitous representation