religiosity

[ri-lij-ee-os-i-tee]

noun

1. the quality of being religious; piety; devoutness.

2. affected or excessive devotion to religion.

Other Word Forms

• antireligiosity noun
• overreligiosity noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of religiosity¹

1350–1400; Middle English religiosite < Latin religiōsitās, equivalent to religiōs ( us ) religious + -itās -ity

Example Sentences

Adopted in infancy, Palmer was raised in Silver Lake, her upbringing impacted by her journalist father’s alcoholism and her stay-at-home mother’s religiosity.

From Los Angeles Times

Singletary adopts a friendly approach, meeting people where they are with their religiosity or spirituality.

From Los Angeles Times

For decades, American religiosity has been in decline, with each generation abandoning religion in greater numbers.

From Salon

Niluper says she and her husband faced hostility from Chinese state officials over their religiosity - her husband was an avid reader of religious texts.

From BBC

But if it has any lasting value, that may rest in its role as a loathsome parable of America’s tortured obsession with human bodies, ground into a sausage of fear and religiosity.

From Salon

Related Words

• piety