devout

adjective

de·​vout di-ˈvau̇t 

1

: committed or devoted to religion or to religious duties or exercises

a devout Catholic

2

: expressing piety or religious fervor : expressing devotion

a devout attitude

3

a

: devoted to a pursuit, belief, or mode of behavior : serious, earnest

a devout baseball fan

born a devout coward

—G. B. Shaw

b

: warmly sincere

a devout wish for peace

devoutly adverb

devoutness noun

Synonyms

• constant
• dedicated
• devoted
• down-the-line
• faithful
• fast
• good
• loyal
• pious
• staunch
• stanch
• steadfast
• steady
• true
• true-blue

Examples of devout in a Sentence

It is his devout wish to help people in need.

devout Red Sox fans never lost faith during the long World Series drought

Recent Examples on the Web

And hey, even the most devout among us can't argue with that. —Lizz Schumer, People.com, 23 Apr. 2025

The Kremlin and its far-right proxies now paint Ivan as a great statesman and devout Russian Orthodox Christian who laid the foundations of the Russian Empire. —Dina Khapaeva, The Conversation, 22 Apr. 2025

Then-House Speaker John Boehner, another devout Catholic, had extended the invitation to Capitol Hill. —Alex Gangitano, The Hill, 21 Apr. 2025

His devout grandparents also live at home, always on hand to make whatever Rumi’s doing feel haram. —Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin devotus, from Latin, past participle of devovēre — see devote

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for devout

• about
• bailout
• blackout
• blowout
• breakout
• burnout
• buyout
• checkout
• closeout
• cutout
• dropout
• dugout

Kids Definition

devout

adjective

de·​vout di-ˈvau̇t 

1

: devoted to religion or to religious duties or exercises

2

: expressing devotion

a devout attitude

3

a

: devoted to an activity, belief, or type of behavior

a devout baseball fan

b

: earnest entry 2 sense 1, sincere

gave them devout thanks

devoutly adverb

devoutness noun