RIGHTEOUSNESS Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

righteousness

noun

as in morality

conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong the laws do not always dictate righteousness, for what is legal is not always moral

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in integrity

faithfulness to high moral standards a life lived with righteousness guarantees that you will always respect yourself

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 righteousness Black troops’ contributions to the Union cause during the Civil War helped convince Abraham Lincoln of the righteousness of extending suffrage to Black men. —

Adam Serwer, The Atlantic, 8 Apr. 2026 As Ross, Martin’s friend and confidante, Kevin Singer has the insinuating righteousness of a slinky cat, his line readings all mews and snarls. —

Steven Winn, San Francisco Chronicle, 3 Apr. 2026 Fisher will portray the recurring role of Michael Jorie, a dangerous killer with a warped sense of righteousness and piety to his beliefs that fuel his involvement in a southwestern gang with a long history of violence. —

Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 31 Mar. 2026 Traditionally, Oscars hosts have been at their best when puncturing the pretensions of the stars in attendance, but for the most part, host Conan O’Brien bought into their sense of their own righteousness. —

Peter Tonguette, The Washington Examiner, 20 Mar. 2026 For these early commentators, there is also a tension between Rebekah’s traditional feminine righteousness and her role in a fraud that was nevertheless necessary to fulfill a divine prophecy. —

Charles Preston, Encyclopedia Britannica, 13 Mar. 2026 If the owner of the store is the embodiment of the system, having mostly killed his emotions, then at the opposite end is Ogawa, who lives by morality and her own sense of righteousness. —

Blake Simons, Variety, 20 Feb. 2026 This needs to change, both for practical reasons and the mental health of the millions for whom recycling is a matter of righteousness. —

Kerry Jackson, Oc Register, 4 Feb. 2026 The Torah frames giving not only as a charitable act, but as righteousness. —

Meg Townsend, Dallas Morning News, 23 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for righteousness

Noun

This pair of novellas is about a middle-aged woman, the heroine’s sister, who comes to Tokyo intent on obtaining breast implants and a protagonist contemplating artificial insemination in a culture that doubts the procedure’s morality.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
One that imposes a particular morality or one that imposes civil order?

— Charles F. Miller, Hartford Courant, 21 Apr. 2026