G. B. ShawKenneth Roberts
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How Shakespeare Used Sanctimonious
There’s nothing sacred about sanctimonious—at least not anymore. But in the early 1600s, the English adjective was still sometimes used to describe someone truly holy or pious, a sense at an important remove from today’s use describing someone who acts or behaves as though they are morally superior to others. (The now-obsolete “pious” sense recalls the meaning of the word’s Latin parent, sanctimonia, meaning “holiness” or “sanctity.”) Shakespeare used both the “holy” and “holier-than-thou” senses of sanctimonious in his work, referring in The Tempest to the “sanctimonious” (that is, “holy”) ceremonies of marriage, and in Measure for Measure to “the sanctimonious pirate that went to sea with the Ten Commandments but scraped one out of the table.” (Apparently, the pirate found the restriction on stealing inconvenient.)
Examples of sanctimonious in a Sentence
Ian Miller Outkick,
FOXNews.com,
15 June 2026
That’s when the movie takes a direction that’s both maudlin in the true sense of the word and ultimately even sanctimonious regarding the heroine’s sudden redemption.
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Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
17 May 2026
The 34-year-old Haim, a successful musician who with just four roles in five quick years has also established herself as one of our most fascinating actresses, plays this turn from cheerful bud to sanctimonious hater perfectly.
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Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
The Pope has been criticized by sanctimonious warmongers for being inappropriately religious.
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Pat Beall,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
Cite this Entry
“Sanctimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctimonious. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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