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
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.
“Love, well, what to say? . . . Love as I’ve known it, in fact, is a lava of crude life that burns the refined one, an eruption that obliterates understanding and piety. . . .”
From Washington Post • Nov. 10, 2021
“We are a people of piety. We need somebody to blame.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Said the great soldier then: “Rejoice inwardly. No crowing aloud, old woman. To glory over slain men is no piety. Destiny and the gods’ will vanquished these, and their own hardness.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
To yourself I willingly intrust it, restrain yourself and overcome your natural vehemence by the love of piety.…
From A Source Book for Ancient Church History by Ayer, Joseph Cullen
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.
