Pharisaism

American  

[far-uh-sey-iz-uhm] / ˈfær ə seɪˌɪz əm /

Also Phariseeism

noun

1. the principles and practices of the Pharisees.

2. (lowercase) rigid observance of external forms of religion or conduct without genuine piety; hypocrisy.

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Pharisaism British  

/ ˈfærɪsiːˌɪzəm, ˈfærɪseɪˌɪzəm /

noun

1. Judaism the tenets and customs of the Pharisees

2. (often not capital) observance of the external forms of religion without genuine belief; hypocrisy

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Other Word Forms

• Pharisaist adjective

Etymology

Origin of Pharisaism

From the New Latin word Pharisaismus, dating back to 1595–1605. See Pharisaic, -ism

Example Sentences

His smirking and somewhat subversive accommodation to this Pharisaism is to emphasize the ways in which Black English is more complex than Standard English.

From The New Yorker • May 8, 2017

Emphasis on visible authority and external practices had brought the Roman Catholic Church, they thought, to Pharisaism and travesty; they hoped to avoid the same pitfall by stressing an inward spirituality.

From Time Magazine Archive

There is an odour of Pharisaism in the British fox-hunter's denunciation of the bull fight on the score of cruelty to animals.

From The Story of Seville by Hartley, C. Gasquoine (Catherine Gasquoine)

In spite of all its exclusiveness the desire for making proselytes, especially in the Diaspora, was in the blood of Pharisaism.

From History of Dogma, Volume 1 (of 7) by Buchanan, Neil

This may partly explain the sullen hostility of which the clergy are still the objects in certain quarters of the village, and which the Pharisaism of some of their friends does much to keep alive.

From Change in the Village by Sturt, George