Synonyms for sanctimonious
- adjective
Most common
Synonyms by meaning
Adjective
1. Self-righteous — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious
self-righteous, holier-than-thou, hypocritical, smug, pharisaic, pietistic, pharisaical, priggish, hypocritic, pietistical
Definitions
- adj. 1
Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.
Near-synonyms: smug, self-righteous; see also Thesaurus:arrogant
- adj. 2
Holy, devout.
Related words
- Word family
- sanctimoniously sanctimoniousness sanctimony
Example sentences
- hypocritical I have never known someone as hypocritical as you.
- smug If you were less smug, you might have more friends.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| sanctimonious | rising | |
| hypocritical | steady | |
| smug | rising |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 4 letters
- smug1
- 5 letters
- pious2, godly2
- 6 letters
- sacred2, teachy
- 7 letters
- blessed1, preachy2
- 8 letters
- priggish
- 9 letters
- pharisaic, pietistic
- 10 letters
- hypocritic
- 11 letters
- pharisaical, pietistical
- 12 letters
- hypocritical5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (pious2 = 2 syllables).