Tartuffe

[ tahr-toof, -toof; French tar-tyf ]

noun

, plural Tar·tuffes [tahr-, toofs, -, toofs, t, a, r, -, tyf]

1. (italics) a comedy (1664–69) by Molière.
2. Also Tar·tufe. (often lowercase) a hypocritical pretender to piety.

Tartuffe

/ tɑːˈtʊf; -ˈtuːf /

noun

1. a person who hypocritically pretends to be deeply pious

Derived Forms

• Tarˈtuffian, adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Tartuffe¹

from the character in the Molière's comedy Tartuffe (1664)

Example Sentences

Moliere’s “Tartuffe” concerns the fallout in a family after an aging patriarch falls under the spell of a religious con artist.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump’s pious façade is not unlike that of Molière’s character Tartuffe in his 1664 play, whose subtitle is "The Imposter."

From Salon

He also had a leading rolein a Broadway production of Molière’s “Tartuffe.”

From Los Angeles Times

On the main stage of the Comédie-Française in Paris, where the production will transfer in the fall, the company could simply repurpose the very similar set of Ivo van Hove’s 2022 “Tartuffe.”

From New York Times

But a current production of “Tartuffe,” presented by the theater company Molière in the Park, drawing from the playwright’s original version, takes a different approach.

From New York Times

Related Words

• deceiver
• hypocrite
• pretender