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A.Word.A.Day--tartuffe

This week's theme: eponyms.

tartuffe (tahr-TOOF) noun

A hypocrite who feigns virtue, especially in religious matters.

[After the main character in Tartuffe, a play by Molière, pen name of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (1622-1673). As if to prove themselves, the religious authorities in Paris had the play banned soon after it was introduced.]

See more usage examples of tartuffe in Vocabulary.com's dictionary.

-Anu Garg (words at wordsmith.org)

"Tony Blair is like Harold Wilson, an empty vessel whose strength derives from his emptiness. (Religion is so often a substitute for depth.) Because he is a Tartuffe who does not really believe in anything, he is brilliant at seizing advantage; when he can't manipulate events, he surfs over them."
A.N. Wilson; Further Trials of Teflon Tony; The Evening Standard (London, UK); May 19, 2003.

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