impious

adjective

ˈim-pē-əs How to pronounce impious (audio)
Definition of impiousnext
as in atheistic
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred an impious act that horrified their pious mother

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 impious Many other traditionalists have made a version of Scruton’s critique, insisting that contemporary art reflects self-indulgent, relativistic, and impious tendencies. — Luis Parrales, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026 While no formal announcement has been made to update its longstanding alcohol ban, Andrew Leber of Tulane University said this is in line with the Kingdom’s past approach to such potentially impious reforms. — Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025 How impious is the title of sacred Majesty applied to a worm, who in the midst of his splendor is crumbling into dust! — Charles Hilu, Washington Post, 4 Nov. 2025 This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious. — Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024 Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity. — James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impious
  1. atheistic
  2. sacrilegious
  3. blasphemous
  4. secular
  5. irreverent
  6. pagan
Adjective
  • His father's death during World War II influenced his pursuit of the ministry even amid the officially atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union, according to his obituary on the OCU website.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 20 Mar. 2026
  • But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.
    — Jacqui Frost, The Conversation, 11 Jan. 2024
Definition of atheistic
Adjective
  • So special that the very idea of wearing them again was sacrilegious.
    — Rebecca Cope, Vogue, 7 July 2026
  • Even the recipe deemed sacrilegious in Carbonaragate cannot evoke the same dramatic reactions or touch the same sensitivities that surround cheese—a relationship that, like wine and bread, is often inseparable from faith, sometimes quite literally.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026
Definition of sacrilegious
Adjective
  • Societies throughout history have punished language deemed blasphemous, seditious, inciting or slanderous.
    — Paul Quigley, The Conversation, 13 July 2026
  • Many of their performances are blasphemous, and their work only displays hate and mockery of Catholics and the Christian faith.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 June 2026
Definition of blasphemous
Adjective
  • The cinemas were filled with diverse crowds, Jews and Arabs, secular and religious citizens, locals and internationals.
    — Elsa Keslassy, Variety, 20 July 2026
  • Kolorenko grew up in a secular Jewish family in Russia during the Soviet era.
    — Shira Li Bartov, Sun Sentinel, 20 July 2026
Definition of secular
Adjective
  • The messages were casual, sly, a little irreverent—proof that Google wasn’t like any other company—while always amplifying the corporate mythology.
    — Claire Stapleton, New Yorker, 18 July 2026
  • The Carnaby expertly mixes Ramsay’s reputation for Michelin star culinary excellence with a 1960s British Invasion rock n’ roll vibe that’s retro hip, energetic and just a bit irreverent.
    — Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 16 July 2026
Definition of irreverent
Adjective
  • Solstices are often associated with pagan religions and draw revelers of different faiths.
    — Julia Gomez, USA Today, 20 June 2026
  • There’s more than a tinge of folk horror to this lingering mystery, which brings to mind the 1973 genre landmark The Wicker Man, in which a puritanical police officer travels to a remote island community that’s reverted to old pagan ways.
    — Keith Phipps, Vulture, 15 June 2026
Definition of pagan

Browse Nearby Words

impinging
impious
impish
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Cite this Entry

“Impious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impious. Accessed 22 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of impious for Spanish Speakers

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