impious

American  

[im-pee-uhs, im-pahy-] / ˈɪm pi əs, ɪmˈpaɪ- /

adjective

1. not pious or religious; lacking reverence for God, religious practices, etc.; irreligious; ungodly.

   Synonyms:

   irreverent, blasphemous, sacrilegious

2. disrespectful.

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impious British  

/ ˈɪmpɪəs /

adjective

1. lacking piety or reverence for a god; ungodly

2. lacking respect; undutiful

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Other Word Forms

• impiously adverb
• impiousness noun

Etymology

Origin of impious

1565–75; < Latin impius. See im- ², pious

Explanation

To be impious is to be disrespectful of god or duty. When someone is being impious they are doing things that their church, synagogue, temple, mosque, school principal, government or parents would find unacceptable. When you don’t show reverence for religion or god, you are impious. The adjective impious is related to the word piety, which means religious reverence. To be impious is to be without piety. Being impious is similar to being blasphemous, but it’s a little more passive to be impious, while blasphemy is more actively insulting. Also, when you act out against tradition or dutifulness, you could be considered impious. If you dodge a military draft, you will likely be considered impious.

Example Sentences

Having conferred upon Franco’s touchdown its name for 11 o’clock news viewers to embrace, I accept neither credit nor, should you hold the moniker to be impious, blame.”

From Washington Post • Dec. 23, 2022

But—for this impious reader, at least—it’s also a temptation worth resisting.

From Slate • Mar. 17, 2016

And his portrayal of historical figures throughout the American Chronicles shows a similar struggle between impious mischief and trembling reverence.

From The New Yorker • Oct. 26, 2015

This dreadful and attractive figure is embodied to perfection by the young actor Sylvain Levitte, whom we first see contemplating his own impish and impious image via the lens of a compact video camera.

From New York Times • Jul. 23, 2015

Furious with anger, he was hurrying from the temple to capture and put to death the impious strangers and the treacherous priestess, when suddenly above him in the air a radiant form appeared—manifestly a goddess.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton