sanctimony

noun

sanc·​ti·​mo·​ny ˈsaŋ(k)-tə-ˌmō-nē How to pronounce sanctimony (audio)
plural sanctimonies
1
obsolete : holiness
2
: affected or hypocritical holiness

Examples of sanctimony in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
After all the criticism, the skepticism, the downright sanctimony about the most controversial topic in New York sports — the exhausting, overburdening minutes — the Knicks lost a game, the narrative will go, because neither Hart nor Brunson played enough of crunch time. Fred Katz, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025 Despite all the pastor’s conventionality and sanctimony, there are flames between them, but those flickers run fairly cool until a breaking point in which Manders at last makes explicit reference to them. Sara Holdren, Vulture, 10 Mar. 2025 And Joe Biden’s sanctimony and moralizing seem less jarring when Americans recall that Carter until recently continued to teach a Sunday school class in his home church in Plains, Ga. Philip Elliott, TIME, 9 Jan. 2025 Such sanctimony to think the Gators are positioned to take up Saban's mantle. Blake Toppmeyer, The Tennessean, 10 May 2024 See All Example Sentences for sanctimony

Word History

Etymology

Middle French sanctimonie, from Latin sanctimonia, from sanctus

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sanctimony was in 1534

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Sanctimony.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sanctimony. Accessed 6 May. 2025.

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