saintly

[seynt-lee]

adjective

saintlier, saintliest 

1. pertaining to, like, or befitting a saint.

   saintly lives.

saintly

/ ˈseɪntlɪ /

adjective

1. like, relating to, or suitable for a saint

Other Word Forms

• saintlily adverb
• saintliness noun
• hypersaintly adjective
• quasi-saintly adjective
• supersaintly adjective
• unsaintly adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of saintly¹

First recorded in 1650–60; saint + -ly

Example Sentences

This disciplined capital allocation — returning all free cash flow to shareholders via dividends and buybacks — makes it practically saintly.

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When the rapping resumes, the man goes to the window to admit “a stately Raven / of the saintly days of yore.”

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Despite the pressure on mainstream media to whitewash Kirk’s rhetoric, ideology and approach to politics, people can look online to quickly verify that he wasn’t the saintly figure the right portrayed him to be.

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That is a category reserved for martyrs, those deemed to have lived a life of heroic values and candidates who the Church declares to have a saintly reputation.

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“Paul and I join in mourning the loss of President Jimmy Carter and in giving thanks for his life, which was saintly in its devotion to public service and peace.”

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• angelic 
• pious 
• upstanding