as in pious
showing a devotion to God and to a life of virtue
a saintly man who devoted his life to caring for the dying
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Recent Examples of saintly
Culkin’s chief rival Norton, who plays the banjo and sings as the saintly folk hero Pete Seeger, has not summoned a win yet.
—
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 26 Feb. 2025
The relics of the monastery’s saintly founder were on view for public veneration.
—Therese Cory, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2025
The saintly and spinsterish nurse Enid spends three sleepless days and nights soul-searching, deciding whether to report a murderer or to pursue a future with him.
—The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
In the show’s first two seasons, Laura’s murder broke open a placid American town—much as a severed ear, in Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, famously undermined middle America’s saintly image of itself.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saintly
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 26 Feb. 2025
The relics of the monastery’s saintly founder were on view for public veneration.
—Therese Cory, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2025
The saintly and spinsterish nurse Enid spends three sleepless days and nights soul-searching, deciding whether to report a murderer or to pursue a future with him.
—The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
In the show’s first two seasons, Laura’s murder broke open a placid American town—much as a severed ear, in Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, famously undermined middle America’s saintly image of itself.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saintly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saintly
Adjective
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Moyers’ preacher-like delivery and emphasis on high moral standards in his commentaries led some people to criticize him as being a pious scold.—
Stephen Battaglio,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
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This message and the pious and social acts of Eid, such as celebrating with friends and family and spreading acts of charity exemplify mindfulness and can be helpful when implemented regularly.—
Monica Haider,
CNN Money,
6 June 2025
Adjective
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Vance Boelter, the suspect in the attack, has been described as a devout Christian who has attended President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies, according to The Associated Press.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
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Over the weekend, Elon Musk and others tried to paint the shooter as a violent leftist, but friends and former colleagues described Vance Boelter, who is charged in the killing, as a devout Christian and political conservative.—
Danielle Chemtob,
Forbes.com,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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At a religious forum in Nairobi this month, Ruto called upon church leaders to encourage youth members to take up overseas job opportunities, part of a wider strategy to meet his administration’s official target of sending 1 million Kenyans per year overseas.—
Martin K.N Siele,
semafor.com,
20 June 2025
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The high court found that the law had no secular purpose but served a plainly religious purpose.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
20 June 2025
Adjective
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Benedict, the Pope emeritus, took a role in the ceremony; some half million devotees of the two sainted Popes filled the piazza and the streets adjoining the Vatican.—
Paul Elie,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
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That’s when Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft , Nvidia and Tesla divorced themselves from the rest of the market — or, more accurately, the big institutions filed for divorce on behalf of the sainted seven.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Live television had long been a holy grail for inventors.—
Danny Robb,
JSTOR Daily,
23 June 2025
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Work-life balance has become the holy grail of modern employment.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
22 June 2025
Adjective
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Fans of ’20s jazz will detect reverent references to the styles of Helen Morgan, Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington and other jazz grants.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
30 Apr. 2025
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The magazine saw itself as literary but not self-serious; if the stereotypical National Geographic story was a walk through the jungle recounted in hushed, awed tones, its Outside equivalent was a little dustier, wilder, and less reverent.—
Rachel Monroe,
New Yorker,
18 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Saintly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saintly. Accessed 30 Jun. 2025.
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