righteous

adjective righ·teous \ ˈrī-chəs \

Definition of righteous

1 :acting in accord with divine or moral law :free from guilt or sin

2 a :morally right or justifiable

a righteous decision

b :arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality

righteous indignation

3 slang :genuine, excellent

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righteously

adverb

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righteousness

noun

See righteous defined for English-language learners

See righteous defined for kids

Examples of righteous in a Sentence

The mix of Yorkshire-inherited bluntness and a caustic, chirpy South London cynicism (vividly parodied and perhaps too endearingly celebrated in the voice of Dora Chance, narrator of Wise Children) stops her from sounding righteous or dogmatic. —Hermione Lee, Times Literary Supplement, 19 June 1992
I didn't know until long after I was grown that Grandpa Durham—that stern and righteous Baptist—sometimes made persimmon beer and cooled it in the cistern. —Jim W. Corder, Chronicle of a Small Town, 1989
He was foreman at Lyman's North End foundry, the largest stove-making foundry in the city, and had risen in eleven years, despite his lung ailment, from apprentice to moulder to chief grievance spokesman, a voice of righteous reason from below. —William Kennedy, Harper's, March 1988
The Believers tried to lead a simple, righteous life, practicing pacifism and confession of sins and recognizing the equality of all humankind. —Robert P. Emlen, Natural History, September 1987
a righteous man can be trusted to act honorably regardless of the circumstances
righteous behavior is its own reward

Recent Examples of righteous from the Web

Superbad costars were decked out in some righteous ’80s-style outfits Thursday on the set of their new Netflix series Maniac.

— mike miller, PEOPLE.com, "Mullets and Acid-Washed Jeans! Emma Stone and Slimmed-Down Jonah Hill Go 80's Retro on Set of Maniac," 25 Aug. 2017
Rounding out this bevy of Adams Avenue impressiveness is: Hawthorn Coffee: For righteous Joe and eats sourced from some of the best, like the inimitable Paraná Empanadas in Liberty Station, Hillcrest’s Bread & Cie and Cake Monkey in Los Angeles.

— michele parente, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Is this the most delicious block in San Diego?," 24 Aug. 2017
Anyone commenting on this ghastly event ought to be able to prioritize his righteous rage.

— andrew c. mccarthy, National Review, "On Charlottesville, Trump, and Anti-Americanism," 19 Aug. 2017
Black people and their allies take to the streets to express their righteous anger, their visceral fear, their constitutional right to peaceably assemble against injustice, and are met with tear gas, tanks and rubber bullets.

— angela helm, The Root, "White Supremacists Pop Off in Va. and Police Don’t Seem to Give a Damn. Why Is That?," 12 Aug. 2017
While there, the educators met with the remnants of Lithuanian Jewry — and righteous rescuers supported by the Jewish Foundation for the Righteous (JFR).

— randall p. lieberman, Jewish Journal, "Palm Beach County Holocaust educator visits Europe on study trip," 10 Aug. 2017
Just please, for the love all that is good and righteous on this godforsaken planet, do not eat your burger patty with a fork and knife.

— alex delany, Bon Appetit, "What's the Correct Way to Eat a Hamburger on a Hot Dog Bun?," 4 Aug. 2017
PJ Harvey brought the red right hand of righteous truth via a nine-piece band that was part thunder and part Gothic male choir.

— jeffrey lee puckett, The Courier-Journal, "5 things you missed at the Forecastle Festival on Sunday," 16 July 2017
Despite the political mantra of rugged individualism, righteous collective action is the real defining American ethic.

— jeffrey sonnenfeld, Fortune, "What a Fourth of July Beach Rescue Says About America’s True Heroes," 15 July 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'righteous.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of righteous

alteration of earlier rightuous, alteration of Middle English rightwise, rightwos, from Old English rihtwīs, from riht, noun, right + wīs wise

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1530

See Words from the same year

righteous Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of righteous

moral, ethical, virtuous, righteous, noble mean conforming to a standard of what is right and good. moral implies conformity to established sanctioned codes or accepted notions of right and wrong.