PIOUSNESS Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

piousness

noun

Definition of piousness

as in deception

the pretending of having virtues, principles, or beliefs that one in fact does not have an outward piousness that was just a ploy to get him the support of religious-minded voters

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as in holiness

the quality or state of being spiritually pure or virtuous the piousness with which he lived every aspect of his life was an inspiration to the other monks at the abbey

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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 piousness At the height of her piousness, Adele is confronted with a substitute English teacher, Bromley Stokes, a hippie from San Francisco, who, to her dismay, changes all the rules of school. — Deborah Treisman, New Yorker, 1 June 2026 Christianity is one of the state’s primary means of control, but for the girls who grew up at the Aunt Lydia School, piousness is real. — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 27 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for piousness

Noun

But the quarterback sneak has never worked well because of its deception.

— Sam McDowell November 3, Kansas City Star, 3 Nov. 2026
The resulting models displayed resistance to monitoring, deception, and attempts at self-preservation.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 31 Oct. 2026

Definition of deception

Noun

But your compassion, your kind heart, and your holiness are what really elevate you in my eyes.

— Scott Detrow, NPR, 3 Oct. 2026
Soul is a synonym for God, or Spirit, and expresses the vast and eternal beauty of holiness, reflected in man and the universe.

— Dilshad Khambatta Eames, Christian Science Monitor, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of holiness

Noun

Meanwhile, Husted has accused Brown of hypocrisy, pointing to Brown's past support for data centers.

— Andrea Hsu, NPR, 28 Oct. 2026
As such, Gulliver’s Travels is nothing less than the foundational critique of the Enlightenment’s excesses, hypocrisies, and hidden tyrannies.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of hypocrisy

Noun

In whatever this biennial is conveying about our collective crisis in spirituality, is the art an instrument or merely a symptom?

— Kristian Vistrup Madsen, Artforum, 1 Nov. 2026
The sprawling saga introduces many of the foundational tenets of Hindu spirituality and the storytelling principles that continue to inform all of Bollywood cinema.

— Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2026

Definition of spirituality

Noun

Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.

— Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.

— Sue Brightman, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Jan. 2025

Definition of deceptiveness

Noun

But, even then, American socialists walked a fine line—they were considered too radical for the mainstream and a mere bourgeois affectation by committed class revolutionaries.

— Benjamin Wallace-Wells, New Yorker, 18 Oct. 2026
With rare exceptions, EV sound is little more than an affectation.

— Byron Hurd, The Drive, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of affectation

Noun

Sondheim’s worst songs are dragged down by uplift, whose insincerity shines right through.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
It was made that much worse when several cast members laughed at her insincerity and Maddi Reese interrupted it several times because there was a stray cat nearby that terrified her.

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 29 May 2026

Definition of insincerity

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pious

piousness

pip

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“Piousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piousness. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

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Synonyms of piousness

noun

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