as in atheistic
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
an impious act that horrified their pious mother
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Recent Examples of impious
While no formal announcement has been made to update its longstanding alcohol ban, Andrew Leber of Tulane University said this is in line with the Kingdom’s past approach to such potentially impious reforms.
—
Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.
—Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.
—Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.
—Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.
—Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impious
Adjective
-
Not playing Notre Dame anymore is sacrilegious.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Jan. 2026
-
That some do not agree with our message does not render our display sacrilegious or is the cause of any 'scandal' to the faithful.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
Adjective
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During the Middle Ages, for example, many contemporary accounts from both Christian and Muslim societies depicted their opposing side as barbaric, blasphemous, and inferior.—
Andrew Paul,
Popular Science,
19 Mar. 2026
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Ja Morant Let’s get blasphemous.—
Law Murray,
New York Times,
2 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Nearly half of 18-to-29-year-olds — raised by the most secular generation before them — have no religious affiliation at all — the highest share ever recorded for any generation.—
Ariel David,
Baltimore Sun,
16 Mar. 2026
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The proposal called for a curriculum combining secular coursework with daily Jewish religious studies.—
Asaf Elia-Shalev,
Sun Sentinel,
16 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude.—
Chas Newkey-Burden,
TheWeek,
16 Mar. 2026
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The White House has also pushed out a wave of wartime propaganda on social media, often striking the same irreverent, bullish tone, experts noted.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The name of the basilica next to the cloister, Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, is indicative of its past, a Catholic basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary over what was once a pagan temple to the Roman god of wisdom, Minerva.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
19 Mar. 2026
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Wild rhythms evoke the rupture of that earth, making way for the pagan rituals that herald the arrival of spring.—
Luis Palomares,
Miami Herald,
27 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impious. Accessed 23 Mar. 2026.
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