righteous

adjective righ·teous \ ˈrī-chəs \

|Updated on: 8 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: righteous in a Sentence

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

In pop culture, representations of police have tended with few exceptions to start with the vision of a righteous force on the side of the people.

— mychal denzel smith, The New Republic, "How America became over-policed," 5 June 2018
Lester is promised twenty percent of forthcoming donations, and the lawyer expects 4,200 for his righteous guidance.

— chicago tribune, chicagotribune.com, "Algren Award Grand Prize winner: "Church of Pit" by Dustin Hyman," 2 June 2018
That just feeds into the silly, biblical trope of the evil woman — whether it’s Lilith, Eve, or Lady MacBeth — who rips her steady man off his righteous course and distracts him with tainted fruit.

— elizabeth wellington, Philly.com, "Let's pray that Ben Simmons and Kendall Jenner don't make it through the summer | Elizabeth Wellington," 1 June 2018
But righteous female rage on television, which had been simmering, has now reached a boiling point.

— eliana dockterman, Time, "Female Rage on Television Reaches a Boiling Point in Dietland," 31 May 2018
History tells us that political art can work in more-outward-facing modes, aiming at villains, emboldening the righteous, and forcing conversations.

— spencer kornhaber, The Atlantic, "Can Protest Art Get Its Mojo Back?," 7 May 2018
No dictator in history ever won the war to silence the righteous.

— Washington Post, "Turkish court finds newspaper staff guilty on terror charges," 25 Apr. 2018
Iran considers these groups fighters in righteous causes.

— Bloomberg.com, "Mario Draghi Answers Questions at ECB News Conference," 24 Apr. 2018
There are over-posters, and drunk posters; there are angry, cursing posters — whose words are promptly removed, Ms. Collins said — and posters who are a tad self-righteous.

— penelope green, New York Times, "A Chat Room of Their Own," 28 Mar. 2018

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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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.