sanctimonious
[sangk-tuh-moh-nee-uh s]
- making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness, etc.: They resented his sanctimonious comments on immorality in America.
- Obsolete. holy; sacred.
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Origin of sanctimonious
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for sanctimoniousness
Contemporary Examples
“One of his weaknesses is his sanctimoniousness,” says this person, who wished to remain anonymous.
So there's a time to be humble and a time to be indignant, sanctimoniousness, a scold, etc.
Historical Examples
He has a sharp round face which has not been spoiled by sanctimoniousness.
Our Churches and ChapelsAtticus
I feel sure we generally miss the force of these words through our Caucasian sanctimoniousness.
The Conquest of FearBasil King
Thus the novel fires many a sanctimoniousness, makes lurid many a hesitating life.
A Novelist on NovelsW. L. George
Tall and lean, immaculate and trim, he exhales an atmosphere of sanctimoniousness.
Prison Memoirs of an AnarchistAlexander Berkman
Last week three of his 'prentices bolted because they could not stand his sanctimoniousness any longer.
The Day of WrathMaurus Jkai
sanctimonious
- affecting piety or making a display of holiness
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Word Origin
C17: from Latin sanctimonia sanctity, from sanctus holy
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 sanctimoniousness
sanctimonious
adj.
c.1600 (in "Measure for Measure," with the disparaging sense "making a show of sanctity, affecting an appearance of holiness"), from sanctimony + -ous. The un-ironic, literal sense was used occasionally in English from c.1600 to c.1800. Related: Sanctimoniously; sanctimoniousness.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper