pious

[ pahy-uhs ]

See synonyms for: pious piously piousness 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

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin pius, akin to piāre “to propitiate”

synonym study For pious

1. See religious.

Other words for pious

1	devout, godly, reverent

See synonyms for pious on Thesaurus.com

Other words from pious

pi·ous·ly, adverb
pi·ous·ness, noun
pre·pi·ous, adjective
pre·pi·ous·ly, adverb
pseu·do·pi·ous, adjective
pseu·do·pi·ous·ly, adverb
quasi-pious, adjective
qua·si-pi·ous·ly, adverb
sem·i·pi·ous, adjective
sem·i·pi·ous·ly, adverb
sem·i·pi·ous·ness, noun
su·per·pi·ous, adjective
su·per·pi·ous·ly, adverb
su·per·pi·ous·ness, noun
un·pi·ous, adjective
un·pi·ous·ly, adverb

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pious in a sentence

Wearing a red hijab and a floral-print dress, she simultaneously embodies a pious Muslim and a fierce rights defender.
She’s Using the Quran to Fight the Patriarchy | Daniel Malloy | January 6, 2021 | Ozy
The “piousness” of the products themselves comes down to packaging and presentation.
Religious Sex-Toy Sites Vow to Save Marriages | Allison Yarrow | December 30, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
But the hard piousness of Cynthy Ann's face had never attracted her sympathy.
The End Of The World | Edward Eggleston
There ain't no piousness stickin' out on him fer folks to hang their hat on, neither.
The Gold Girl | James B. Hendryx
This is Portuguese allover—indolence, piousness, poverty, impotence.
Following the Equator, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)

British Dictionary definitions for pious

pious

/ (ˈpaɪəs) /

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

Origin of pious

C17: from Latin pius, related to piāre to expiate

Derived forms of pious

piously, adverb
piousness, 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

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