sanctimonious

adjective

sanc·​ti·​mo·​nious ˌsaŋ(k)-tə-ˈmō-nē-əs How to pronounce sanctimonious (audio)
-nyəs
1
: hypocritically pious or devout
a sanctimonious moralist
the king's sanctimonious rebukeG. B. Shaw
2
obsolete : possessing sanctity : holy
sanctimoniously adverb
sanctimoniousness noun

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How Shakespeare Used Sanctimonious

There's nothing sacred about "sanctimonious"—at least not any more. But in the early 1600s, the English adjective was still sometimes used to describe someone truly holy or pious (a sense that recalls the meaning of the word's Latin parent, sanctimonia). Shakespeare used both the "holy" and "holier-than-thou" senses in his work, referring in The Tempest to the "sanctimonious" (that is, "holy") ceremonies of marriage, and in Measure for Measure to describe "the sanctimonious pirate that went to sea with the Ten Commandments but scraped one out of the table." (Apparently, the pirate found the restriction on stealing a bit too inconvenient.)

Examples of sanctimonious in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web But after a whiny Netflix documentary, a whiny biography (‘Spare’ — even the title is a pouty gripe) and an inert podcast, the Harry and Meghan brand swelled into a sanctimonious bubble just begging to be popped — and ‘South Park’ was the pin. Martha Ross, The Mercury News, 8 Jan. 2024 These scandals permeate Ozon’s standard provocateur procedure, undermining sanctimonious political certainties — especially mainstream media’s gender favoritism. Armond White, National Review, 26 Jan. 2024 There is a distinction between a plaintive warning and a scalding and sanctimonious reprimand issued from a distance. Andrew T. Walker, National Review, 31 Dec. 2023 But after a whiny Netflix documentary, a whiny biography (Spare — even the title is a pouty gripe) and an inert podcast, the Harry and Meghan brand swelled into a sanctimonious bubble just begging to be popped — and South Park was the pin. James Hibberd, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Dec. 2023 Were some even sanctimonious about your ignorance on certain subjects? Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 10 Nov. 2023 So he’s come up with a way of dealing with that in his life, which is a bit sanctimonious. Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Sep. 2023 Advertisement The cast and creators also did a stellar job poking fun at the usual sanctimonious portrayals of Indigenous traditions and culture. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2023 What the most virulent, nauseatingly sanctimonious of the free speech woke folks want is freedom for their speech. Bob Guccione Jr, Spin, 20 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sanctimonious.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1603, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sanctimonious was in 1603

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Dictionary Entries Near sanctimonious

Cite this Entry

“Sanctimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctimonious. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sanctimonious

adjective
sanc·​ti·​mo·​ni·​ous
ˌsaŋ(k)-tə-ˈmō-nē-əs
: pretending to be devoted
sanctimoniously adverb
sanctimoniousness noun
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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