piety

[ pahy-i-tee ]

noun

, plural pi·e·ties.

1. reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations:

   a prayer full of piety.

   Synonyms: awe, veneration, respect

2. the quality or state of being pious:

   saintly piety.

   Synonyms: devoutness, godliness, holiness, sanctity, devotion

3. dutiful respect or regard for parents, homeland, etc.:

   filial piety.

4. a pious act, remark, belief, or the like:

   the pieties and sacrifices of an austere life.

piety

/ ˈpaɪɪtɪ /

noun

1. dutiful devotion to God and observance of religious principles
2. the quality or characteristic of being pious
3. a pious action, saying, etc
4. rare.
   devotion and obedience to parents or superiors

Other Words From

• super·pie·ty noun plural superpieties
• un·pie·ty noun plural unpieties

Word History and Origins

Origin of piety¹

First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English piete, from Middle French, from Latin pietās, equivalent to pi(us) + -etās, variant (after i ) of -itās; pious, -ity

Word History and Origins

Origin of piety¹

C13 piete, from Old French, from Latin pietās piety, dutifulness, from pius pious

Example Sentences

Her song “VBS” takes its story from Dacus’ own experiences at Christian camp, where darker undercurrents of restlessness and nihilism course below her piety.

From Time

She breaks rules when it’s the only way to reassert the importance of filial piety.

From Vox

“It seems that the different standard is (based on) the length of the beard and outwardly display of piety,” Hamdani said.

From The Daily Beast

And he is to give this permission only to a priest “who has piety, knowledge, prudence and integrity of life.”

From The Daily Beast

His policies helped engender the rise of an intolerant and severe nationalism that conflates piety with patriotism.

From The Daily Beast

Once they win, these principles get absorbed into common sense—and, of course, get betrayed left and right, like any civic piety.

From The Daily Beast

Before, his actions had been closely aligned church policies, which were basically a CYA masquerading as piety.

From The Daily Beast

Certainly captain Merveilles and his people showed unusual piety.

From Project Gutenberg

This stubborn resistance lent all the more lustre to the piety of our benignant Rulers.

From Project Gutenberg

I came here, as I supposed, a fairly good Christian, with an average amount of piety and an average number of faults.

From Project Gutenberg

And for this reason the first help should be given to this State, and not to what has the pretext of piety.

From Project Gutenberg

To me the national affectation of piety and holiness resembles a white shirt put on over a dirty skin.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• fervor
• loyalty
• religiosity
• reverence
• zeal