self-righteous

[self-rahy-chuhs, self-]

adjective

1. confident of one's own righteousness, especially when smugly moralistic and intolerant of the opinions and behavior of others.

   Synonyms: pharisaical, sanctimonious

self-righteous

adjective

1. having or showing an exaggerated awareness of one's own virtuousness or rights

Other Word Forms

• self-righteously adverb
• self-righteousness noun
• unself-righteous adjective
• unself-righteously adverb
• unself-righteousness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of self-righteous¹

First recorded in 1670–80

Example Sentences

A light touch works better than self-righteous hectoring.

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I could feel their disgust and their self-righteous cancellation in every one of the innumerable wounds I already had.

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MacGruber starts the sketch self-righteous, noting that the “rich and powerful have lived by a different set of rules than the rest of us.”

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"The main part of it when it comes to religion is being right with God, rather than being self-righteous."

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At international forums, Indian officials have adopted a self-righteous tone, which plays well in India but wins few friends in the West.

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Related Words

• complacent 
• egotistical www.thesaurus.com
• hypocritical 
• pious 
• sanctimonious