piety
Americannoun
-
reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations.
a prayer full of piety.
- Synonyms:
- awe, veneration, respect
-
the quality or state of being pious.
saintly piety.
- Synonyms:
- holiness, sanctity, devoutness, devotion, godliness
-
dutiful respect or regard for parents, homeland, etc..
filial piety.
-
a pious act, remark, belief, or the like.
the pieties and sacrifices of an austere life.
noun
-
dutiful devotion to God and observance of religious principles
-
the quality or characteristic of being pious
-
a pious action, saying, etc
-
rare devotion and obedience to parents or superiors
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of piety
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English piete, from Middle French, from Latin pietās, equivalent to pi(us) + -etās, variant (after i ) of -itās; see pious, -ity
Explanation
Piety is devotion to God or to religious practices. Nuns who pray all day long are famous for their piety. If you have filial piety it means you're devoted to your parents. Piety is sometimes used in a disapproving way to mean that the person is only pretending to be devoted or good. It was borrowed from the French word pieté, meaning "piety or pity," ultimately from the Latin pius, "devoted, kind." This Latin adjective is also the source of our English adjective pious.
Vocabulary lists containing piety
The Poet X
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"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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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.
Affide is headquartered in a 16th-century palace in the Mount of Piety square in Rome, the home of pawnshops for centuries, purposefully established near the old Jewish Ghetto.
From New York Times • Jul. 6, 2020
On the political side of the story quilt, Jared Harris and Indira Varma pair nicely as the paranoid Chancellor of the Burgue Absalom Breakspear and his manipulative wife Piety.
From Salon • Aug. 29, 2019
She broke one length slow in last fourth-place try when facing sharp winner Piety, who since beat allowance company easily.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 4, 2019
But a group calling itself “Save Piety Hill” says the council can’t ignore the recommendation of a local historic preservation commission.
From Washington Times • May 17, 2019
Piety, Cat, Courageous, Sceptre, Red Raven, Harridan, Faithful, Fury, they had all gone up, Kingslander and Godsgrace as well, the demon was eating his own.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
