double standardnoun [ C ]
uk/ˌdʌb.əl ˈstæn.dəd/us/ˌdʌb.əl ˈstæn.dɚd/a rule or standard of good behaviour that, unfairly, some people are expected to follow or achieve but other people are not:
The governor is being accused of (having) double standards in being tough on law and order yet allowing his own cabinet members to escape prosecution for fraud.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Morality and rules of behaviour
- antisocial
- bioethics
- book
- claim
- conscience
- decency
- ethic
- moralize
- morally
- norm
- object lesson
- precept
- social contract
- spirit
- the rights and wrongs idiom
- the ways of the world idiom
- two wrongs don't make a right idiom
- value
- voice
- wrong
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