as in pious
formal + disapproving
pretending to be morally better than other people
sanctimonious politicians A sanctimonious speech from someone who refused to acknowledge his own past failings.
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Recent Examples of sanctimonious
But Michael assessed Anthropic’s terms as both restrictive and sanctimonious.
—
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
The spiral of events that follow ups the pathos while quietly commenting on rigid patriarchal rules, male privilege, sanctimonious moral posturing, the denial of women’s bodily autonomy and contempt for otherness, things all still very much with us today.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026
There’s nothing sanctimonious about insisting on civil rights for transgender people nor about fighting for racial justice.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Advertisement For those of us who’ve historically found Stause to be sanctimonious, passive-aggressive, and prone to playing the victim, there’s plenty in both her post and her behavior throughout the reunion to support that view.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
The spiral of events that follow ups the pathos while quietly commenting on rigid patriarchal rules, male privilege, sanctimonious moral posturing, the denial of women’s bodily autonomy and contempt for otherness, things all still very much with us today.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026
There’s nothing sanctimonious about insisting on civil rights for transgender people nor about fighting for racial justice.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Advertisement For those of us who’ve historically found Stause to be sanctimonious, passive-aggressive, and prone to playing the victim, there’s plenty in both her post and her behavior throughout the reunion to support that view.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctimonious
Adjective
-
In Wake-Keeper (2026), a roughly four-by-five-foot canvas, a pious man draped in the red cloth of traditional Ghanaian funeral attire sits on a stool with his hands clasped, his body facing the left side of the frame.—
Lovia Gyarkye,
The New York Review of Books,
6 June 2026
-
The aim wasn’t to make the chatbot Bible-thumping or pious.—
Chris Stokel-Walker,
Scientific American,
26 May 2026
Adjective
-
Yes, that’s a somewhat meaningless place to be at this time of year.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 June 2026
-
That right becomes meaningless if the ballot language advocates and misleads, rather than objectively explains.—
Jamie Cole,
Sun Sentinel,
8 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctimonious. Accessed 11 Jun. 2026.
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