self-righteous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-righteous
First recorded in 1670–80
Explanation
A self-righteous person thinks their beliefs and morals are better than everyone else's. If you're quite sure the charity of others pales in comparison with yours, you might be self-righteous. Join the Old English words self, meaning "one's own person," and rightwise, meaning "virtuous," and you've got somebody who thinks very highly of their own morality. A self-righteous person thinks they can do no wrong, and goes about with a "holier-than-thou" attitude, judging and scrutinizing everyone else. A fur designer may view PETA activists as self-righteous when they picket his fashion show. You may consider a friend self-righteous when it comes to musical taste.
Vocabulary lists containing self-righteous
The Great Gilly Hopkins
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Divergent
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
She believes the negative reaction was self-righteous because the recordings captured an everyday occurrence and says people should stop judging.
From BBC • Mar. 27, 2026
How would I experience it as the middle-aged tourist I am today, one who prefers comfort over self-righteous deprivation?
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 28, 2026
I could feel their disgust and their self-righteous cancellation in every one of the innumerable wounds I already had.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 17, 2025
Smug, as we use it as a synonym for conceited or self-righteous, emerged from its earlier sense of “neat and trim,” which is exactly the ideal of a pert bump.
From Slate • Jul. 21, 2025
Meanwhile, the lot of widows and homeless children is very hard, and it is to their defence, not God’s, that the self-righteous should rush.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
