duplicidades

Duplicidades is a plural noun used in Spanish and Portuguese to denote duplicity or two-faced behavior. It describes the quality of acting with insincerity, presenting different truths or personas to different audiences, and concealing true motives. In everyday language, duplicidades is often employed to critique someone who speaks one thing in one setting and something opposing in another, or who applies inconsistent standards.

Etymologically, duplicidades derives from duplicitas, meaning twofold or two-faced, with cognates in other Romance languages. In literature, journalism and political discourse, the term conveys ethical judgment and concerns about honesty, transparency, and trust. It is commonly used to describe deception, manipulation, or sham coexistence of conflicting statements or positions.

In broader usage, duplicidades can also appear in discussions about social roles or identities that are performed differently across contexts. While the core sense remains negative, some analyses distinguish between outright deceit and merely strategic ambiguity, depending on intent and impact.

Note that in technical or scientific domains, related concepts exist under different terms. For example, in genetics or informatics, the idea of duplication is typically expressed as duplicación or duplicación, not duplicidades, which emphasizes deception rather than replication.

See also: duplicidad, dos caras, doble juego, duplicación.