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
The sanctimonious Trudeau, a lightning rod for the anti-woke backlash that exists even in Canada, resigned.
—
Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025
But the second half becomes increasingly generic conspiracy stuff, leading to a two-part conclusion that’s more smug and sanctimonious than the preceding action can justify.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Nov. 2024
The Byzantines wrote an amoral flexibility into their system, despite its putative religiosity—a realistic approach that has become more difficult to accomplish in the United States, partly owing to the power of a sanctimonious media establishment.
—Robert D. Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Oct. 2022
This is the sanctimonious language of social media — the tone and medium Adichie criticized in her 2021 blog post — not of a nuanced social novel.
—Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
Mohammed Soliman, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 Apr. 2025
But the second half becomes increasingly generic conspiracy stuff, leading to a two-part conclusion that’s more smug and sanctimonious than the preceding action can justify.
—Daniel Fienberg, The Hollywood Reporter, 28 Nov. 2024
The Byzantines wrote an amoral flexibility into their system, despite its putative religiosity—a realistic approach that has become more difficult to accomplish in the United States, partly owing to the power of a sanctimonious media establishment.
—Robert D. Kaplan, Foreign Affairs, 4 Oct. 2022
This is the sanctimonious language of social media — the tone and medium Adichie criticized in her 2021 blog post — not of a nuanced social novel.
—Sanjena Sathian, Vulture, 24 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctimonious
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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The most likely candidates for an add would be the 2024 seventh-round pick Hanson or Driskell, but neither had an offensive snap last season outside of the team’s meaningless week 18 game against Denver.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
3 July 2025
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Choose one, and land in a place that reduces the number of meaningless games for a conference that plays more Group of Five and FCS cupcakes than any other Power Four league.—
Blake Toppmeyer,
The Tennessean,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sanctimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctimonious. Accessed 15 Jul. 2025.
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