sanc·ti·mo·ni·ous

(săngk′tə-mō′nē-əs)

adj.

1. Behaving with sanctimony: a sanctimonious politician who was proven to be a hypocrite.

2. Characterized by sanctimony: "The history we brandish as a light to nations is largely a sanctimonious tissue of myth and self-infatuation" (Benjamin Schwartz).

sanc′ti·mo′ni·ous·ly adv.

sanc′ti·mo′ni·ous·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

sanctimonious

(ˌsæŋktɪˈməʊnɪəs)

adj

affecting piety or making a display of holiness

[C17: from Latin sanctimonia sanctity, from sanctus holy]

ˌsanctiˈmoniously adv

ˌsanctiˈmoniousness n

ˈsanctimony n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

sanc•ti•mo•ni•ous

(ˌsæŋk təˈmoʊ ni əs)

adj.

showing or marked by false piety or righteousness; hypocritically virtuous.

sanc`ti•mo′ni•ous•ly, adv.

sanc`ti•mo′ni•ous•ness, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

sanctimonious - excessively or hypocritically pious; "a sickening sanctimonious smile"

holier-than-thou, pharisaic, pharisaical, self-righteous, pietistic, pietistical

pious - having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity; "pious readings"

sanctimonious

adjective pious, smug, hypocritical, pi (Brit. slang), too good to be true, self-righteous, self-satisfied, goody-goody (informal), unctuous, holier-than-thou, priggish, pietistic, canting, pharisaical, Tartuffian or Tartufian He writes smug, sanctimonious rubbish.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

sanctimonious

adjective

Of or practicing hypocrisy:

hypocritical, Pecksniffian, pharisaic, pharisaical, phony, two-faced.

Translations

مُنافِق، مُتَظاهِر بالتَّقْوى

svatouškovský

skinhellig

scheinheilig

moralisateur

szenteskedõ

meî helgislepju; hræsnisfullur

ipocrita santocchio

šventeiviškaišventeiviškasšventeiviškumas

svētulīgs

ханжеский

svätuškárstvo

dindarlık taslayan

假装神圣的

sanctimonious

[ˌsæŋktɪˈməʊnɪəs] ADJ → mojigato, santurrón

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

sanctimonious

[ˌsæŋktɪˈməʊniəs] adj [person, tone] → moralisateur/trice

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

sanctimonious

adj → frömmlerisch; don’t be so sanctimonious about it → tu doch nicht so fromm

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

sanctimonious

[ˌsæŋktɪˈməʊnɪəs] adj (pej) (person) → bigotto/a, bacchettone/a; (tone) → moraleggiante

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

sanctimonious

(sӕŋktiˈməuniəs) adjective

trying to appear full of holiness or goodness. a sanctimonious expression.

ˌsanctiˈmoniously adverb

ˌsanctiˈmoniousness noun

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

He was donned in his Sunday garments, with his most sanctimonious and sourest face, and, holding his hat in one hand, and his stick in the other, he proceeded to clean his shoes on the mat.

View in context

"Who is that spider-legged gorilla yonder with the sanctimonious countenance?"

View in context

The black, glassy eyes glittered with a kind of wicked drollery, and the thing struck up, in a clear shrill voice, an odd negro melody, to which she kept time with her hands and feet, spinning round, clapping her hands, knocking her knees together, in a wild, fantastic sort of time, and producing in her throat all those odd guttural sounds which distinguish the native music of her race; and finally, turning a summerset or two, and giving a prolonged closing note, as odd and unearthly as that of a steam-whistle, she came suddenly down on the carpet, and stood with her hands folded, and a most sanctimonious expression of meekness and solemnity over her face, only broken by the cunning glances which she shot askance from the corners of her eyes.

"Yes, Mas'r," said Topsy, with sanctimonious gravity, her wicked eyes twinkling as she spoke.

View in context

In most cases, however, the spirit of medieval allegory proved fatal, the genuinely abstract characters are mostly shadowy and unreal, and the speeches of the Virtues are extreme examples of intolerable sanctimonious declamation.

View in context

She had gazed at the addressed envelope, smiled (I was looking up at her from my desk), and at last took it up with an effort of sanctimonious repugnance.

View in context

He seemed to take a great satisfaction in Valentin's interview with the cure, and yet his conversation did not at all indicate a sanctimonious habit of mind.

View in context

I'D like to do a polygraph test on the sanctimonious snobs who've been spouting forth on the demise of The Jeremy Kyle Show.

Kyle victim of snob mob

Summary: Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], May 17 (ANI): Under attack from parties and Hindu groups over his remarks on Nathuram Godse, Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Friday said that every religion has its own terrorists and one cannot claim oneself as "sanctimonious".

Every religion has its own terrorist: Kamal Haasan

THE new government had been sanctimonious in its promises of revamping the basic facilities of life for the public.

Lahore bus condition

An outsized number of faulty members and students gathered there in this sanctimonious ceremony.

Mehfil-eMilad held at IMCG (PG), F-7/4

OH NO, not another sanctimonious attack on Christianity by the Humanist Society Scotland, who want parents to support a petition asking Holyrood to allow headteachers to adopt a "non-religious community schools model".

Protecting free thought; Record readers