as in pious
showing a devotion to God and to a life of virtue
a saintly man who devoted his life to caring for the dying
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of saintly
The relics of the monastery’s saintly founder were on view for public veneration.
—
Therese Cory, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2025
The saintly and spinsterish nurse Enid spends three sleepless days and nights soul-searching, deciding whether to report a murderer or to pursue a future with him.
—The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
In the show’s first two seasons, Laura’s murder broke open a placid American town—much as a severed ear, in Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, famously undermined middle America’s saintly image of itself.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
With saintly patience, my P.T. informed me that my shin bone was in great shape.
—Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saintly
Therese Cory, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2025
The saintly and spinsterish nurse Enid spends three sleepless days and nights soul-searching, deciding whether to report a murderer or to pursue a future with him.
—The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
In the show’s first two seasons, Laura’s murder broke open a placid American town—much as a severed ear, in Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, famously undermined middle America’s saintly image of itself.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
With saintly patience, my P.T. informed me that my shin bone was in great shape.
—Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saintly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saintly
Adjective
-
Ahmad’s pious cousin Ibrahim insists that Hassan must be killed.—
David Remnick,
The New Yorker,
3 Aug. 2024
-
Each letter comes across as a set piece, a small achievement of style and tone: Vasari’s flowery, deferential missives to the duke, Maria’s youthful ardor and confusion, the overly pious cattiness of a nun.—
Chelsea Leu,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Biden, a devout Catholic, had been scheduled to travel to Rome to meet with Pope Francis near the end of his presidency, but canceled the trip to remain focused on devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025
-
For The 1st Time — At Lower Prices My grandmother, Alberta, a devout Jamaican Catholic who migrated to America before I was born, was a living embodiment of Pope Francis’s message.—
Richard Fowler,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
For two and a half centuries, religious freedom has driven America's story.—
Kevin Sabet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
-
Soon afterward, gunmen attacked members of the Druze religious minority in towns south of Damascus, setting off fierce battles that left more than 100 people dead.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
14 May 2025
Adjective
-
Benedict, the Pope emeritus, took a role in the ceremony; some half million devotees of the two sainted Popes filled the piazza and the streets adjoining the Vatican.—
Paul Elie,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
-
That’s when Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft , Nvidia and Tesla divorced themselves from the rest of the market — or, more accurately, the big institutions filed for divorce on behalf of the sainted seven.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Anyone in our era, that was a holy grail: to get to play college basketball.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
18 May 2025
-
His many attempts to free himself from the holy seal placed upon the Devils becomes a running gag involving various unpleasant bodily functions.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
17 May 2025
Adjective
-
Taylor’s casket, covered with an American flag, was taken through reverent procession in Bell County on May 13 from Temple to the funeral home in Copperas Cove, KXXV reported.—
Kate Linderman,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
14 May 2025
-
But Post’s reverent take on pop country ends up inheriting the subgenre’s baggage.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
21 Aug. 2024
Cite this Entry
“Saintly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saintly. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share