sanctimonious
making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness, etc.: They resented his sanctimonious comments on immorality in America.
Obsolete. holy; sacred.
Origin of sanctimonious
1Other words from sanctimonious
- sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous·ly, adverb
- sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous·ness, noun
- non·sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous, adjective
- non·sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous·ly, adverb
- non·sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous·ness, noun
- un·sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous, adjective
- un·sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous·ly, adverb
- un·sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous·ness, noun
Words Nearby sanctimonious
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use sanctimonious in a sentence
I suspect other people in the group may see him as sanctimonious, too.
Carolyn Hax: Son’s father-in-law called your covid advice ‘sanctimonious.’ How to respond? | Carolyn Hax | June 17, 2021 | Washington PostMy son's father-in-law told me, in a text message to a family group, to “not be so sanctimonious.”
Carolyn Hax: Son’s father-in-law called your covid advice ‘sanctimonious.’ How to respond? | Carolyn Hax | June 17, 2021 | Washington PostThe sanctimonious, the puritans of all stripes, and the killjoys in general raise the issue annually.
It is a sanctimonious doctor show combined with a sanctimonious mob drama—and misses the core of the profession.
‘Mob Doctor’: Boring TV Show Misses the Mark on What Physicians Do | Kent Sepkowitz | September 18, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTOne purported fan blogged a review calling the interlude “an interminable and sanctimonious speech.”
Intimate Madonna Show at Paris’s Olympia Hall Turns Ugly | Tracy McNicoll | July 27, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
Other terms for Santorum: “religious,” “sanctimonious,” and “God-talker.”
The GOP Candidates Defined? A Word Cloud From Daily Beast Readers | Sam Schlinkert | February 25, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThe pious, sanctimonious Oscar ceremony is how Hollywood wants to see itself.
The Gaudy, Gauche and Sometimes Corrupt Greatness of the Golden Globes | Richard Rushfield | January 16, 2012 | THE DAILY BEASTThis contriver of miracles, of a countenance at once sanctimonious, artful and sly, preceded other prelates carrying banners.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueJust keep up your sanctimonious appearance and stick to your Deacon story, and you'll git off.
Si Klegg, Book 2 (of 6) | John McElroyIf he was remorseful, so was she; she never wanted to see his sanctimonious face again.
Robert Annys: Poor Priest | Annie Nathan MeyerMost learned, fair, and sanctimonious Princess—Plague, what comes next?
The Saint's Tragedy | Charles KingsleyOf the sanctimonious tone we may say that it has its reward in the almost universal contempt it provokes.
Expositor's Bible: The Gospel of Matthew | John Monro Gibson
British Dictionary definitions for sanctimonious
/ (ˌsæŋktɪˈməʊnɪəs) /
affecting piety or making a display of holiness
Origin of sanctimonious
1Derived forms of sanctimonious
- sanctimoniously, adverb
- sanctimoniousness, noun
- sanctimony, noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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