pious

[pahy-uhs]

See more synonyms for pious on Thesaurus.com

adjective

having or showing a dutiful spirit of reverence for God or an earnest wish to fulfill religious obligations.
characterized by a hypocritical concern with virtue or religious devotion; sanctimonious.
practiced or used in the name of real or pretended religious motives, or for some ostensibly good object; falsely earnest or sincere: a pious deception.

of or relating to religious devotion; sacred rather than secular: pious literature.
having or showing appropriate respect or regard for parents or others.

Origin of pious

1595–1605; < Latin pius, akin to piāre to propitiate

Related formspi·ous·ly, adverbpi·ous·ness, nounpre·pi·ous, adjectivepre·pi·ous·ly, adverbpseu·do·pi·ous, adjectivepseu·do·pi·ous·ly, adverbqua·si-pi·ous, adjectivequa·si-pi·ous·ly, adverbsem·i·pi·ous, adjectivesem·i·pi·ous·ly, adverbsem·i·pi·ous·ness, nounsu·per·pi·ous, adjectivesu·per·pi·ous·ly, adverbsu·per·pi·ous·ness, nounun·pi·ous, adjectiveun·pi·ous·ly, adverb

Synonyms for pious

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1. devout, godly, reverent. See religious.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for pious

saintly, righteous, devout, sanctimonious, born-again, clerical, devoted, divine, ecclesiastical, godly, goody-goody, orthodox, reverent, sacred, spiritual, prayerful, priestly

Examples from the Web for pious

Contemporary Examples of pious

Yet for a pious Muslim believer, the experience of those states was bad to the point of being catastrophic.
Why the Caliphate Will Devour Its Children
Philip Jenkins
July 11, 2014
There was lot of promiscuity in my family, but everyone was pretending that they were pious and perfect.
Why Whitney Cummings’ Dick Jokes Are Important
Kevin Fallon
June 25, 2014
And then, using the language of the pious against them, he declares, “We know that God is on our side.”
Texas GOP Wants to ‘Cure’ Gays
James Kirchick
June 11, 2014
How can the pious candidate pivot when polls show voters shifting away from religion?
Mike Huckabee’s Bully Pulpit: Economic Populism
Lloyd Green
December 24, 2013
But there's more to public touchiness over last week's sketch than just pious indignation.
Nasrallah Doubles Down On Syria, Iran
Matt Lerner
November 14, 2013

Historical Examples of pious

Let pious women, especially, take a lesson from this incident.
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. II
Francis Augustus Cox
She was driven from a pious family; but she had no home, no friend, no helper!
Female Scripture Biographies, Vol. I
Francis Augustus Cox
And then came the pious climax of Coronation, America, and the Doxology.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
The lady raised her eyes in a pious manner, and answered 'Yes.'
Life And Adventures Of Martin Chuzzlewit
Charles Dickens
The latter, it was said, had remained at Lourdes in service with a pious lady.
The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete
Emile Zola

British Dictionary definitions for pious

pious

adjective

having or expressing reverence for a god or gods; religious; devout
marked by reverence
marked by false reverence; sanctimonious
sacred; not secular
archaic having or expressing devotion for one's parents or others

Derived Formspiously, adverbpiousness, noun

Word Origin for pious

C17: from Latin pius, related to piāre to expiate

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 pious

adj.

mid-15c., from Latin pius "dutiful, devout, conscientious, religious; faithful to kindred; inspired by friendship, prompted by natural affections," perhaps [Klein] related to Latin purus "pure, clean" (see pure). Often coupled with fraud (n.) from at least 1630s. Related: Piously; piousness.