self-righteous
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of self-righteous
First recorded in 1670–80
Explanation
A self-righteous person thinks their beliefs and morals are better than everyone else's. If you're quite sure the charity of others pales in comparison with yours, you might be self-righteous. Join the Old English words self, meaning "one's own person," and rightwise, meaning "virtuous," and you've got somebody who thinks very highly of their own morality. A self-righteous person thinks they can do no wrong, and goes about with a "holier-than-thou" attitude, judging and scrutinizing everyone else. A fur designer may view PETA activists as self-righteous when they picket his fashion show. You may consider a friend self-righteous when it comes to musical taste.
Vocabulary lists containing self-righteous
The Great Gilly Hopkins
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Divergent
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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.
"She had no respect for the privacy of me as an 18 year old school shooting survivor or my staff. She was self righteous, insane, and completely out of control."
From Salon • Mar. 1, 2023
Magistrate Amy Chan said she had been "self righteous" in "completely disregarding the law to think that the freedom of assembly was more important than public health".
From BBC • Dec. 14, 2022
I’m not so self righteous that I’ll reject the presence of a man who has not been convicted, much less charged of any crime.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2022
Artists know the risks they take and would never want to punish one of their own for the self righteous pleasure of the states sense of justice.
From New York Times • Dec. 12, 2018
Besides, I feel as Teresa does that it is stupid and self righteous of us to continue to refuse to have anything to do with the Boy Scouts simply because they once offended us.
From The Girl Scouts in Beechwood Forest by Vandercook, Margaret
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.
