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
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
That online comment was characteristic of the usual sanctimonious pablum, the kind of casual moral high ground afforded only to a native English speaker or to someone willfully ignorant of the daily indignities non-native speakers face.
—Sheon Han, Wired News, 27 Oct. 2025
Forget any sanctimonious spewing sermon about pro sports foolishly believing these types of things would not happen.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
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
That online comment was characteristic of the usual sanctimonious pablum, the kind of casual moral high ground afforded only to a native English speaker or to someone willfully ignorant of the daily indignities non-native speakers face.
—Sheon Han, Wired News, 27 Oct. 2025
Forget any sanctimonious spewing sermon about pro sports foolishly believing these types of things would not happen.
—Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctimonious
Adjective
-
The contrast between svn4vr’s different inflections evokes the spiritual tension of a pious person torn between worldly desire and submission to a higher power.—
H.D. Angel,
Pitchfork,
9 Apr. 2026
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In addition to the pious, persevering Goma and flawed Chandravati in the mortal realm, in the divine realm there are the goddesses Sati and her reincarnation as Parvati.—
Jessica Vantine Birkenholtz,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
My fellow Americans, certain words have been rendered meaningless in describing the current state of affairs.—
Steve Lopez,
Los Angeles Times,
13 Apr. 2026
-
Not because of their result at the Clippers on Sunday, a 115-110 loss, but because the Warriors finished the ultimately meaningless game with no new injuries, which is all coach Steve Kerr wanted to see.—
Joseph Dycus,
Mercury News,
13 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctimonious. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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