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
David and Samuel explore the U.S. energy sector and evaluate what the future holds in an ESG landscape that has done its very best to bring economic incoherence to its pharisaical agenda.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 16 Jan. 2022
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
David and Samuel explore the U.S. energy sector and evaluate what the future holds in an ESG landscape that has done its very best to bring economic incoherence to its pharisaical agenda.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 16 Jan. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pharisaical
Adjective
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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
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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
Adjective
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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
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The 34-year-old Haim, a successful musician who with just four roles in five quick years has also established herself as one of our most fascinating actresses, plays this turn from cheerful bud to sanctimonious hater perfectly.—
Bilge Ebiri,
Vulture,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The aim wasn’t to make the chatbot Bible-thumping or pious.—
Chris Stokel-Walker,
Scientific American,
26 May 2026
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Maria, austere and deeply pious, runs the business with an iron hand, obsessed with making the family’s origins forgotten.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
Adjective
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People are fixating on celebrities of all kinds, accusing singers of body-positive anthems of being hypocritical, rolling their eyes at athletes promoting weight loss drugs and whispering about the thinness of their favorite movie stars.—
Sara Moniuszko,
USA Today,
29 May 2026
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Yet, the sense of cognitive dissonance that pervades this space can feel blindingly hypocritical.—
Megan Feringa,
New York Times,
27 May 2026
Adjective
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There is nothing worse than a self-righteous Big J journalist.—
Zach Dean OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2026
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This admission is met with varying levels of shock and dismay from her three companions, ranging from nervous equivocation from her fiancé to self-righteous anger from Rachel.—
Megan McCluskey,
Time,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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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
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But there’s a line between analysis and holier-than-thou bloviation.—
Mara Reinstein,
HollywoodReporter,
24 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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But somewhere between legal automation and insincere executive empathy is the place where actual human communication still exists.—
Alexander Puutio,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
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Sybiha said Russia’s actions exposed its calls for a separate ceasefire around May 9 as insincere.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Adjective
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These are wines that pair beautifully with rich dishes, oily, unctuous fish with tomato, and pasta sauces that are rich and fatty.—
Valentina Di Donato,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
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Here are details on the sweet, tiny bites of unctuous decadence, and the fluffy, bogus cones best left in the freezer.—
Jolene Thym,
Mercury News,
3 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pharisaical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pharisaical. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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