as in atheistic
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
an impious act that horrified their pious mother
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Recent Examples of impious
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
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.
—Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 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
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.
—Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 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
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impious
Adjective
-
Not playing Notre Dame anymore is sacrilegious.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
3 Jan. 2026
-
That some do not agree with our message does not render our display sacrilegious or is the cause of any 'scandal' to the faithful.—
David Chiu,
PEOPLE,
16 Dec. 2025
Adjective
-
Writing the sentence seems blasphemous since not even the 1998 powerhouse won 15 regular-season games.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
15 Dec. 2025
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That’s because The Carpenter’s Son is not only gruesomely horror-leaning, but it’s based on the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, which some deem heretical or even blasphemous.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
14 Nov. 2025
Adjective
-
Iran is a theocratic republic rooted ideologically in Shiite Islam while Venezuela is a socialist and secular regime.—
Mostafa Salem,
CNN Money,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Concern was higher among older and secular Israelis.—
Grace Gilson,
Sun Sentinel,
5 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Musk has marketed Grok as more fun and irreverent than other chatbots, taking pride in X being a place for free speech.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude.—
Chas Newkey-Burden,
TheWeek,
6 Jan. 2026
Adjective
-
Over the course of that months-long reporting, a picture has emerged of the radical characters involved with the property, including a notorious neo-Nazi family and a pagan mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter.—
Rob Picheta,
CNN Money,
15 Dec. 2025
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The History of Hanukkah More than 2,000 years ago, Antiochus, a cruel ruler of the Greek Kingdom, imposed pagan beliefs on the Jewish people.—
Holly Rizzuto Palker,
Parents,
14 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impious. Accessed 12 Jan. 2026.
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