doppelgänger

noun

dop·​pel·​gäng·​er ˈdä-pəl-ˌgaŋ-ər 

-ˌgeŋ-,

ˌdä-pəl-ˈgaŋ-,

-ˈgeŋ-

variants or doppelganger

1

a

: double sense 2a

said she had seen his doppelgänger

b

: alter ego sense 1b

c

: a person who has the same name as another

2

: a ghostly counterpart (see counterpart sense 3a) of a living person

Did you know?

According to German folklore, all living creatures have a spirit double who is invisible but identical to the living individual. These second selves are perceived as being distinct from ghosts (which appear only after death), and sometimes they are described as the spiritual opposite or negative of their human counterparts. German writers coined the word Doppelgänger (from doppel-, meaning "double," and -gänger, meaning "goer") to refer to such specters.

Synonyms

• alter ego
• carbon
• carbon copy
• clone
• counterpart
• double
• duplicate
• duplication
• facsimile
• fetch
• image
• likeness
• look-alike
• match
• mirror image
• picture
• replica
• ringer
• spit
• spitting image
• twin

Examples of doppelgänger in a Sentence

In the story, the character is haunted by a doppelgänger.

at the mall today I saw someone who could be your doppelgänger

Recent Examples on the Web

One of the doppelgangers even chooses the name William as a Riker tribute. —Richard Edwards, Space.com, 1 Jan. 2025

Bonus shocking points for ending the episode with Buck and Tommy breaking up and Ryan Guzman's Eddie (still reeling after dating his dead wife's doppelganger) doing full Risky Business cosplay. —EW.com, 4 Dec. 2024

Tech startups use a wealth of data to develop digital doppelgangers which promise to immortalize people on earth. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 1 Nov. 2024

Chalamet snuck his way through the packed mob, hiding behind a black mask and baseball hat, before sneaking up on two doppelgangers posing for photos. —Anna Tingley, Variety, 27 Oct. 2024

And are his army of doppelgangers ready to really commit to the bit? —Emma Specter, Vogue, 13 Dec. 2024

In the trippy video, a woman chases her doppelganger through an isolated wooded area, eventually catching and coming face-to-face with the alternative version of herself. —Sophie Williams, Billboard, 27 Nov. 2024

For example, in the early 2010s Facebook held an online doppelganger contest encouraging users to upload photos and find their own lookalikes. —Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2024

For Oilers fans, Skinner is in the same range as Leon Draisaitl (2.52 per 60) over the three years, with Arvidsson’s number being a doppelganger for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins’ rate in the same game state over the same time frame. —Allan Mitchell, The Athletic, 3 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

German Doppelgänger, from doppel- double + -gänger goer

First Known Use

1851, in the meaning defined at sense 2

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