PHARISAICAL Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

pharisaical

adjective

Definition of pharisaical

as in moralistic

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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 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

The thing is, McEnany, co-creator Tim Mason, and a team of executive producers that included Lilly Wachowski as well as Sweeney immediately subvert any expectation of a sanctimonious or self-serious exploration of identity.

— Judy Berman, Time, 11 Aug. 2026
This, rather than sanctimonious display, is what should motivate Christians.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026

Definition of sanctimonious

Adjective

Adenauer, De Gasperi, and Schuman were all devout Catholics, and Monnet, though not a religious man, was born into a pious Catholic family.

— Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of pious

Adjective

There is something deeply hypocritical about discovering and using the language of women’s liberation only when your own status, reputation, or income is at stake.

— Laura Jung, Vogue, 25 Aug. 2026
That some people in these industries, including those who are well paid, would look at our economy and seek out other ways of doing things is neither hypocritical nor surprising.

— Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026

Definition of hypocritical

Adjective

Camille’s self-righteous anger, so understandable yet so misguided, has burned through the screen every week.

— Noel Murray, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
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

Definition of self-righteous

Adjective

The implication is that stage types and progressive politicians are craven, submissive, and insincere.

— Erik Forrest Jackson, The Atlantic, 22 Aug. 2026
Survivors have expressed frustration and criticized the Japanese government's support for nuclear deterrence for being insincere.

— ABC News, ABC News, 9 Aug. 2026

Definition of insincere

Adjective

Played with unctuous authority by the multilingual Danish performer Claes Bang, Kersten claims to have used his influence to obtain the freedom of thousands of concentration camp prisoners, and is obsessed with winning a Nobel Prize.

— Alissa Simon, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
The uni—or sea urchin—come from Hokkaido and have an unctuous, egg yolk richness.

— Erika Ebsworth-Goold, Midwest Living, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of unctuous

Browse Nearby Words

pharaonic

pharisaical

pharmaceutical

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“Pharisaical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pharisaical. Accessed 30 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of pharisaical

adjective

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