double-faced

English

Adjective

double-faced (not comparable)

1. Having two functional faces.

   a double-faced hammer

2. deceitful; hypocritical; treacherous
   • 1671, John Milton, “Samson Agonistes, […]”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J. M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC:

     Fame , if not double-faced , is double-mouthed ,
     And with contrary blast proclaims most deed

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for “double-faced”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.)

Related terms

• two-faced
• Janus-faced

Translations

hypocritical; treacherous

• Bulgarian: двуличен (bg) (dvuličen), лицемерен (bg) (licemeren)
• Finnish: kaksinaamainen (fi), petollinen (fi), kavala (fi)
• Turkish: ikiyüzlü (tr)

See also

• speak with a forked tongue