as in smug
disapproving
having or showing the annoying attitude of people who believe that they are morally better than other people
a holier-than-thou attitude
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Recent Examples of holier-than-thou
And yet, to holier-than-thou doctors like young Ogilvie (Lucas Iverson), Howard is a cautionary tale: a glutton who can’t control himself, a rube who hasn’t heard of Ozempic, and a lazy slouch who can’t manage to drag himself to aqua aerobics.
—
Marah Eakin, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
But there’s a line between analysis and holier-than-thou bloviation.
—Mara Reinstein, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
WalletHub made sure that no state walked away feeling entirely holier-than-thou.
—Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 19 Aug. 2025
After all, Bill can be a buzzkill, and the Hills’ other neighbors, such as the conspiratorial Dale Gribble across the alley and the holier-than-thou Minh and Kahn Souphanousinphone next door, are flawed too.
—Adrienne Matei, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2025
And Velia Martínez, who played the Spanish-speaking, holier-than-thou grandmother set in her ways, was born in Tampa, fluent in English and a longtime actress in Mexico and Cuba.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 July 2025
Laurie, now adopting her own holier-than-thou perch, is just as bad.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Phillip, Portland, Ore. A: Unlike baseball, with some of its holier-than-thou decisions with its Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame largely looks at career on-court achievements.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 18 Feb. 2025
Marah Eakin, Vulture, 6 Mar. 2026
But there’s a line between analysis and holier-than-thou bloviation.
—Mara Reinstein, HollywoodReporter, 24 Nov. 2025
WalletHub made sure that no state walked away feeling entirely holier-than-thou.
—Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 19 Aug. 2025
After all, Bill can be a buzzkill, and the Hills’ other neighbors, such as the conspiratorial Dale Gribble across the alley and the holier-than-thou Minh and Kahn Souphanousinphone next door, are flawed too.
—Adrienne Matei, The Atlantic, 13 Aug. 2025
And Velia Martínez, who played the Spanish-speaking, holier-than-thou grandmother set in her ways, was born in Tampa, fluent in English and a longtime actress in Mexico and Cuba.
—Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 8 July 2025
Laurie, now adopting her own holier-than-thou perch, is just as bad.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 Mar. 2025
Phillip, Portland, Ore. A: Unlike baseball, with some of its holier-than-thou decisions with its Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame largely looks at career on-court achievements.
—Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 18 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for holier-than-thou
Adjective
-
Over Your Dead Body is not for the faint of heart, but give or take a rape threat that crosses the line into smug sadism without quite seeming to realize it, the violence lands as more comically cartoonish than horrific.—
Angie Han,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Mar. 2026
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The ceremony has remained a smug political distraction ever since.—
Angelica Jade Bastién,
Vulture,
12 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
This cavalier attitude toward urban planning has been conjoined to a disingenuousness in the discussion of City Hall’s fate.—
Mark Lamster
Architecture Critic,
Dallas Morning News,
11 Mar. 2026
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Get stuck with a cavalier team of baggage handlers, and it can even get soaked in your favorite fragrance or antiaging serum.—
Justin Fenner,
Robb Report,
8 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
The two boastful half-brothers clashed and split.—
Gail Sheehy,
Vanity Fair,
20 Feb. 2026
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Over time, some officers showed a boastful disdain for parts of the population they were expected to protect.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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The only certainty in these films is that the self-righteous Optimus Prime will always preach some long-winded, sleep-inducing monologue at the end of the movie before a radio-friendly Linkin Park or Imagine Dragons song blares over the credits.—
Sergio Pereira,
Space.com,
11 Mar. 2026
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In the novel, the servant Joseph is a self-righteous zealot who’s always banging on about the Bible.—
Natasha O'Neill,
Vanity Fair,
13 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
This is an organization that can be frustratingly set in its ways and arrogant in its belief that there’s no better way.—
Jeff Zrebiec,
New York Times,
10 Mar. 2026
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Planning for more than 11 contests out of Dobbins, something only produced twice over his first six NFL seasons, isn’t just arrogant.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
10 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Good intentions — and handsome animation — aside, Forevergreen is ultimately too maudlin and moralistic to rank it much higher than this.—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
10 Mar. 2026
-
The script, penned by Bartek Bartosik and Naqqash Khalid, becomes bizarrely moralistic by the end, insinuating that the debased and debauched might perhaps see their problems solved by becoming domesticated.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
6 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Only this time the interns are boring Gen Z stereotypes (obsessed with TikTok, too sensitive, too emotional, too self-important).—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
25 Feb. 2026
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This isn’t just one self-important critic’s opinion — Berry herself has talked about it.—
David Fear,
Rolling Stone,
13 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Holier-than-thou.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/holier-than-thou. Accessed 19 Mar. 2026.
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