Pharisaic
Americanadjective
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of or relating to the Pharisees.
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(lowercase) practicing or advocating strict observance of external forms and ceremonies of religion or conduct without regard to the spirit; self-righteous; hypocritical.
adjective
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Judaism of, relating to, or characteristic of the Pharisees or Pharisaism
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(often not capital) righteously hypocritical
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of Pharisaic
1610–20; < Late Latin Pharisaicus < Greek Pharisaikós. See Pharisee, -ic
Explanation
Use the adjective pharisaic to describe a religious person who is smug and judgmental, especially if his actions prove that he's much less holy than he pretends to be. Someone who exaggerates how morally upright or pious she is can be called pharisaic. Another way to say it is "holier-than-thou." Pharisaic people tend to talk a lot about how devout and religious they are, but their actions don't quite measure up to their words. The word pharisaic has its roots in the Greek Pharisaios, which in turn comes from an Aramaic word, perishayya, or "separate." In the history of Judaism, the Pharisees were an important school of religious thought.
Vocabulary lists containing pharisaic
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.
A majority of American Jews today are unaffiliated with the synagogues the Pharisaic rabbis emphasized, and yet 79 percent report feeling "very positive" about being Jewish.
From Slate • Nov. 9, 2012
Promptly, John Hyrcanus switched his favor to the pro-Hellenistic Sadducees and the Pharisaic observances were forbidden.
From Time Magazine Archive
Still be the wine-house thronged with its glad choir, And Pharisaic skirts burnt up with fire, Still be those tattered frocks and azure robes Trod under feet of revellers in the mire.
From The Sufistic Quatrains of Omar Khayyam by Khayyam, Omar
Later on it becomes a specific Pharisaic doctrine, “Everything is foreseen.”
From Jewish Theology by Kohler, Kaufmann
She has with Pharisaic scrupulosity taken four eggs and no more, and two cups of sugar, and two teaspoonfuls of sifted flour, and a pinch of baking powder, and a small teacupful of hot water.
From By the Christmas Fire by Crothers, Samuel McChord
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.
