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
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
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
In one project from 1998, a team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill envisioned communicating with colleagues through virtual, life-sized, 3D doppelgangers that could be projected onto any office surface.
—
Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Nov. 2024
As sustainability becomes a business necessity, the manufacturing sector is turning to an unlikely ally: its digital doppelganger.
—Raghunandan Gurumurthy, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
Winkler shared a photo on X Wednesday with his bronze doppelganger and wife Stacey Weitzman.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 23 Oct. 2024
Ray Nicholson is his real-life dad Jack Nicholson's doppelganger in Smile 2.
—Benjamin Vanhoose, People.com, 18 Oct. 2024
The internet named him a doppelganger for Gru, the lead character voiced by Steve Carell, and landed him for a TV spot with the Minions.
—Todd Longwell, Variety, 25 Sep. 2024
The idea is to reclaim her space within the industry via a pretty doppelganger.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2024
In the Emmys press room, Smith discussed his reasoning for making the reference to his name doppelganger.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2024
The best known of the cycle is Charles Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940), where the comedian plays both a Hitler doppelganger (same body type, same moustache) and a Jewish barber.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2024
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Shoshi Parks, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Nov. 2024
As sustainability becomes a business necessity, the manufacturing sector is turning to an unlikely ally: its digital doppelganger.
—Raghunandan Gurumurthy, Forbes, 23 Oct. 2024
Winkler shared a photo on X Wednesday with his bronze doppelganger and wife Stacey Weitzman.
—Hannah Kirby, Journal Sentinel, 23 Oct. 2024
Ray Nicholson is his real-life dad Jack Nicholson's doppelganger in Smile 2.
—Benjamin Vanhoose, People.com, 18 Oct. 2024
The internet named him a doppelganger for Gru, the lead character voiced by Steve Carell, and landed him for a TV spot with the Minions.
—Todd Longwell, Variety, 25 Sep. 2024
The idea is to reclaim her space within the industry via a pretty doppelganger.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 24 Sep. 2024
In the Emmys press room, Smith discussed his reasoning for making the reference to his name doppelganger.
—Wesley Stenzel, EW.com, 16 Sep. 2024
The best known of the cycle is Charles Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940), where the comedian plays both a Hitler doppelganger (same body type, same moustache) and a Jewish barber.
—Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 Aug. 2024
Dictionary Entries Near doppelgänger
Cite this Entry
“Doppelgänger.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/doppelg%C3%A4nger. Accessed 16 Nov. 2024.
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