Pharisaic

or Phar·i·sa·i·cal

[far-uh-sey-ik or far-uh-sey-i-kuh l]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR Pharisaic ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

of or relating to the Pharisees.

(lowercase) practicing or advocating strict observance of external forms and ceremonies of religion or conduct without regard to the spirit; self-righteous; hypocritical.

Origin of Pharisaic

1610–20; < Late Latin Pharisaicus < Greek Pharisaikós. See Pharisee, -ic

Related formsPhar·i·sa·i·cal·ly, adverbPhar·i·sa·i·cal·ess, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pharisaical

Yet the retribution falls also upon the Church, in that it becomes artificial, clerical, pharisaical.
Edward Caldwell Moore|Edward Moore
Who says that early risers always have a Pharisaical sense of their own superiority?
Records of Later Life|Frances Ann Kemble
Cowper called it 'that repository of self-righteousness and pharisaical lumber.'
The English Church in the Eighteenth Century|Charles J. Abbey and John H. Overton
Its monks, however, point with some pharisaical satisfaction at certain neighboring establishments.
Life on a Mediaeval Barony|William Stearns Davis

"Because she told me all that passed," said Oak, with a pharisaical sense that he was not as other shearers in this matter.
Far from the Madding Crowd|Thomas Hardy

British Dictionary definitions for pharisaical

Pharisaic

Pharisaical

adjective

Judaism of, relating to, or characteristic of the Pharisees or Pharisaism

(often not capital) righteously hypocritical

Derived FormsPharisaically, adverbPharisaicalness, noun

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pharisaical

pharisaic

adj.

1610s, from Church Latin pharisaicus, from Greek pharisaikos, from pharisaios (see Pharisee). Related: Pharisaical (1530s).

Pharisaic

or Phar·i·sa·i·cal

adjective

RELATED WORDS

Origin of Pharisaic

Examples from the Web for pharisaical

Pharisaic

Pharisaical

adjective

pharisaic