Doppelgänger
noun /ˈdɒp.əl.ɡæŋ.ər/ — An apparition or exact double of a living person
Definition
A ghostly double of a living person — identical in appearance, moving through the world alongside them. In folklore, seeing your doppelgänger was an omen of death. In modern usage, anyone who looks uncannily like someone else.
Beyond the definition
The doppelgänger disturbs because it suggests that selfhood is not unique — that your particular arrangement of features could be replicated, that your face is not yours alone. It questions identity by duplicating it.
Origin & history
German: 'double-goer' — from Doppel (double) + Gänger (goer, walker). In German folklore, a person's doppelgänger was their ghostly double. Popularised in English through 19th-century Gothic literature.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
She met her doppelgänger at a conference — same hair, same posture, same nervous laugh.
The doppelgänger myth is about the fear that we are replaceable — that another could be us.
He'd been told about his doppelgänger for years. When he finally met him, he understood why people were unsettled.
Synonyms
double, twin, look-alike, wraith, fetch
Antonyms
original, unique individual
Related words
Doppelgänger vs look-alike
A look-alike is simply someone who resembles another person physically. A doppelgänger carries a more ominous, ghostly connotation of a double, often suggesting a supernatural or ill-fated connection.
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Fictional scene
An Uncanny Double Emerges
One adult chooses a coat in front of a mirror, while their partner quietly copies their exact outfit and posture.
A doppelgänger is a ghostly double that mirrors another's appearance. Here, the identical posture and attire create an uncanny visual duplication, reflecting a loss of unique identity through persistent imitation.
Image credit: Wordspun · AI-generated conceptual illustration