PHARISAICAL Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

pharisaical

adjective

Definition of pharisaical

as in moralistic

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Recent Examples of pharisaical Although he was noted for being supremely humble, our Way-shower, Christ Jesus, took strong antagonistic grounds against harsh pharisaical doctrine. — Jan Keeler Vincent, Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2025 Lists are no substitute for criticism, but those who take them as inimical to criticism are pharisaical. — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2022 Yet Marlin makes clear that excommunication was never a real threat but rather one that Cuomo shrewdly used to turn himself into a victim of pharisaical bishops. — Vincent J. Cannato, National Review, 7 Nov. 2020

Recent Examples of Synonyms for pharisaical

Adjective

Navy excels at untangling human emotions and picking through them without being didactic or moralistic.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026
Last year, a YouTube channel called Akhbar Enfejari (Explosive News) began posting a variety of digital content with a political and moralistic bent.

— Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026

Definition of moralistic

Adjective

There are few things in this world more sanctimonious and hypocritical than left-wing sportswriters getting on their faux moral high horse.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026
That’s when the movie takes a direction that’s both maudlin in the true sense of the word and ultimately even sanctimonious regarding the heroine’s sudden redemption.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 May 2026

Definition of sanctimonious

Adjective

Philemon and Baucis, a pious Phrygian couple, hospitably received the disguised Zeus and Hermes after their richer neighbors had refused to do so.

— Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 July 2026
This was 1872, and the pious (and patronizing) commentators of the time muttered that Damien’s unvarnished personality was due to his simple farm upbringing in rural Belgium.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Definition of pious

Adjective

Amendments placed on the ballot by lawmakers would still need only a statewide majority — a distinction critics call hypocritical.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 July 2026
The public is equally free to find the position ridiculous and hypocritical, and choose to support other leagues that better represent their feelings.

— Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 26 July 2026

Definition of hypocritical

Adjective

The financier Carl Icahn, Ackman’s longtime nemesis and business rival, famously denounced him as a self-righteous crybaby.

— Jeff John Roberts, Fortune, 20 July 2026
Simon’s self-righteous callousness warranted a rebuke, but the rebuke provided Simon the opportunity to see the situation more clearly, to repent, and to love more going forward.

— Eric Bashor, Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2026

Definition of self-righteous

Adjective

The unctuous and sweet char siu pork jowl is interspersed with green apple pressed with lime and ginger for a bright and crisp counter to the fatty pig.

— Jeremy Repanich, Robb Report, 16 June 2026
Made with the unctuous 8-percent-fat milk of the water buffalo—animals that may have arrived in the area via the Normans by way of Sicily, or perhaps by the Goths coming from Central Asia—buffalo mozzarella has been produced at least since the twelfth century.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 June 2026

Definition of unctuous

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pharaonic

pharisaical

pharmaceutical

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“Pharisaical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pharisaical. Accessed 31 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of pharisaical

adjective

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