single-word-requests
I'm looking for a word that describes someone who pretends to be virtuous in order to please or gain people's trust.
I'm looking for a word that precisely has this definition. I've thought of words like hypocrite, sanctimonious, and insincere but they don't encompass all the components in the definition I gave.
Thanks
I believe that you are looking for a horologist. (Horology: the art or science of measuring time.)
word that describes ... type of phony "goody-two-shoes" type behavior
Merriam-Webster defines the adjective UNCTUOUS as used to describe someone who speaks and behaves in a way that is meant to seem friendly and polite but that is unpleasant because it is obviously not sincere unctuous. The poster child of an unctuous personality in “classic” American television (for those of us old enough to remember) was a character named Eddie Haskell (played to great effect by the actor, Ken Osmond) on “Leave It To Beaver” which ran on CBS from October 4, 1957, to 1958 and then on ABC from 1958 to 1963. The Beav’s dad, Ward Cleaver, once described Eddie as “so polite, it's almost un-American." The “mask" of an “unctuous" persona is worn to both avoid what is undesirable and to access what is desirable.
Best Answer
While not strictly referring to pretending to be virtuous, poseur might work for you.
(From the Oxford Dictionaries)