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.
Task subverts expectations without sanctimony. Judy Berman, Time, 28 Aug. 2025 Kate Riley’s perceptive debut novel, Ruth, depicts the life of a woman in a repressive sect without an ounce of sanctimony. Hillary Kelly, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2025 Until then, no one should take their sanctimony seriously. The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 27 July 2025 How not to hear in his philippic the traces of an OCD inscribed in our cultural DNA, a sanctimony that launched the archetypal act of avoidance that forms our origin myth? Andrew Kay, Harpers Magazine, 28 May 2025 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 10 Sep. 2025.

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