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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Recent Examples of saintly
Culkin’s chief rival Norton, who plays the banjo and sings as the saintly folk hero Pete Seeger, has not summoned a win yet.
—
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 26 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for saintly
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 26 Feb. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for saintly
Recent Examples of Synonyms for saintly
Adjective
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Those healthy enough were put through a daily regimen of religious education and physical schooling intended to train them to be pious and obedient.—
Ann Foster,
JSTOR Daily,
9 July 2025
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Moyers’ preacher-like delivery and emphasis on high moral standards in his commentaries led some people to criticize him as being a pious scold.—
Stephen Battaglio,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Black Americans ranked more devout in each category than white Americans and Hispanic Americans, according to the poll.—
Natalie Demaree,
Miami Herald,
15 May 2025
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Vance Boelter, the suspect in the attack, has been described as a devout Christian who has attended President Donald Trump’s campaign rallies, according to The Associated Press.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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At the end of the day students from a religious order went back to the houses of their communities where professors from the order also lived and dined and prayed with them.—
Belinda Luscombe,
Time,
1 July 2025
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The Senate parliamentarian spiked the part of the proposal that would exempt religious institutions from the tax, which, Fansmith says, was part of an effort to exempt the very conservative Hillsdale College from the endowment tax.—
Emma Whitford,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Adjective
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And the sainted Barack Obama Administration, which launched an extended bombing campaign in Libya, did not get congressional authorization.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
26 June 2025
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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
Adjective
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Regardless of region, a memorable melody remains the holy grail.—
Faye Bradley,
Variety,
4 July 2025
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On paper, unlimited PTO sounds like the holy grail of benefits a company can offer its employees—the ability to take endless vacations and avoid burnout.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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West's playing here is precise, reverent, never indulgent.—
Philip Martin,
Arkansas Online,
19 June 2025
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Craig is self-reflective while being appropriately reverent to the tropes of the genre.—
Katie Walsh,
Twin Cities,
9 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Saintly.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/saintly. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.
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