as in holiness
the quality or state of being spiritually pure or virtuous
true saintliness requires utter selflessness and devotion to others
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in pious
showing a devotion to God and to a life of virtue
a saintly man who devoted his life to caring for the dying
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of saintliness
Therese Cory, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2025
The saintly and spinsterish nurse Enid spends three sleepless days and nights soul-searching, deciding whether to report a murderer or to pursue a future with him.
—The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
In the show’s first two seasons, Laura’s murder broke open a placid American town—much as a severed ear, in Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, famously undermined middle America’s saintly image of itself.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
With saintly patience, my P.T. informed me that my shin bone was in great shape.
—Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saintliness
Adjective
The relics of the monastery’s saintly founder were on view for public veneration.
—Therese Cory, The Conversation, 28 Jan. 2025
The saintly and spinsterish nurse Enid spends three sleepless days and nights soul-searching, deciding whether to report a murderer or to pursue a future with him.
—The New Yorker, 27 Jan. 2025
In the show’s first two seasons, Laura’s murder broke open a placid American town—much as a severed ear, in Lynch’s 1986 film, Blue Velvet, famously undermined middle America’s saintly image of itself.
—K. Austin Collins, The Atlantic, 7 Feb. 2025
With saintly patience, my P.T. informed me that my shin bone was in great shape.
—Amy X. Wang, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2025
See All Example Sentences for saintliness
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saintliness
Noun
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Pope Leo’s election has instantly made the rituals of the Vatican feel a touch more familiar to Americans—and perhaps made the idea of holiness feel a touch more attainable.—
Christopher Hale,
Time,
9 May 2025
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In life, Pope Francis caught the world’s attention with his humility and his holiness.—
Denise Crosby,
Chicago Tribune,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Ahmad’s pious cousin Ibrahim insists that Hassan must be killed.—
David Remnick,
The New Yorker,
3 Aug. 2024
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Each letter comes across as a set piece, a small achievement of style and tone: Vasari’s flowery, deferential missives to the duke, Maria’s youthful ardor and confusion, the overly pious cattiness of a nun.—
Chelsea Leu,
New York Times,
12 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Annie’s costumes feel almost like armor, rooted in spirituality.—
Essence,
Essence,
1 May 2025
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Pluto retrograde begins May 4th at 11:27 a.m. EST, activating your sector of spirituality and the subconscious.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Biden, a devout Catholic, had been scheduled to travel to Rome to meet with Pope Francis near the end of his presidency, but canceled the trip to remain focused on devastating wildfires in Los Angeles.—
Mike Snider,
USA Today,
27 Apr. 2025
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For The 1st Time — At Lower Prices My grandmother, Alberta, a devout Jamaican Catholic who migrated to America before I was born, was a living embodiment of Pope Francis’s message.—
Richard Fowler,
Forbes.com,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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For two and a half centuries, religious freedom has driven America's story.—
Kevin Sabet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 May 2025
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This lighting might have emphasized the space’s religious purpose.—
Sonja Anderson,
Smithsonian Magazine,
14 May 2025
Adjective
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Benedict, the Pope emeritus, took a role in the ceremony; some half million devotees of the two sainted Popes filled the piazza and the streets adjoining the Vatican.—
Paul Elie,
New Yorker,
21 Apr. 2025
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That’s when Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, Microsoft , Nvidia and Tesla divorced themselves from the rest of the market — or, more accurately, the big institutions filed for divorce on behalf of the sainted seven.—
Jim Cramer,
CNBC,
16 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Even Joe — who, for the love of all that is holy, just wants his goddamn air fryer back — can’t help but point out how little Rose has visited.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
4 May 2025
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Although the proximate cause of the Crimean War in the mid-19th century was a dispute between Russia and the Ottoman Empire over control of Christian holy sites in Jerusalem, historians also attribute the conflict to geopolitical rivalries and imperial ambitions.—
Scott Neuman,
NPR,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But Post’s reverent take on pop country ends up inheriting the subgenre’s baggage.—
Craig Jenkins,
Vulture,
21 Aug. 2024
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The learning process for me over the course of the first two years was to not be as reverent of the original.—
Rick Porter,
The Hollywood Reporter,
24 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Saintliness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saintliness. Accessed 19 May. 2025.
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