piety
Americannoun
-
reverence for God or devout fulfillment of religious obligations.
a prayer full of piety.
- Synonyms:
- awe, veneration, respect
-
the quality or state of being pious.
saintly piety.
- Synonyms:
- holiness, sanctity, devoutness, devotion, godliness
-
dutiful respect or regard for parents, homeland, etc..
filial piety.
-
a pious act, remark, belief, or the like.
the pieties and sacrifices of an austere life.
noun
-
dutiful devotion to God and observance of religious principles
-
the quality or characteristic of being pious
-
a pious action, saying, etc
-
rare devotion and obedience to parents or superiors
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of piety
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English piete, from Middle French, from Latin pietās, equivalent to pi(us) + -etās, variant (after i ) of -itās; see pious, -ity
Explanation
Piety is devotion to God or to religious practices. Nuns who pray all day long are famous for their piety. If you have filial piety it means you're devoted to your parents. Piety is sometimes used in a disapproving way to mean that the person is only pretending to be devoted or good. It was borrowed from the French word pieté, meaning "piety or pity," ultimately from the Latin pius, "devoted, kind." This Latin adjective is also the source of our English adjective pious.
Vocabulary lists containing piety
The Poet X
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"The Devil and Tom Walker" by Washington Irving
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Unit 4: Powerful Openings
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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 much-cited Swiss study from the 1990s asked how faith passes between generations, and the answer upset every assumption about gentle piety: The father decides.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 18, 2026
The discussions range from people frustrated with controlling parents, to those exhausted from the pressure to excel academically or heed advice in the name of "filial piety".
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026
You’ve seen a couple hundred of them by the time you hit second or third grade, so you become familiar with the muted ethereal glow, the heavenly gaze and the look of piety.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026
The pope "wanted to see for himself what is happening in Monaco, where this movement of renewal is based on an embraced faith, and on an inclusive popular piety and devotion," he told AFP.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
Ladies from church sometimes came over to practice hymns, belting their piety through our walls.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
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.
