SELF-RIGHTEOUS Synonyms: 75 Similar and Opposite Words

self-righteous

adjective

Definition of self-righteous

as in pious

disapproving having or showing a strong belief that your own actions, opinions, etc., are right and other people's are wrong a self-righteous tone It's OK to criticize, but don't get self-righteous about it.

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of self-righteous Democrats who want to be self-righteous about their MAGA relatives, or sit back in their plush armchairs and diagnose Biden as being senile and blame his aides for hiding it, need to wake up. — Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2026 There is nothing worse than a self-righteous Big J journalist. — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026 This admission is met with varying levels of shock and dismay from her three companions, ranging from nervous equivocation from her fiancé to self-righteous anger from Rachel. — Megan McCluskey, Time, 3 Apr. 2026 The only certainty in these films is that the self-righteous Optimus Prime will always preach some long-winded, sleep-inducing monologue at the end of the movie before a radio-friendly Linkin Park or Imagine Dragons song blares over the credits. — Sergio Pereira, Space.com, 11 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for self-righteous

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-righteous

Adjective

Philemon and Baucis, a pious Phrygian couple, hospitably received the disguised Zeus and Hermes after their richer neighbors had refused to do so.

— Gitanjali Roy, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 July 2026
This was 1872, and the pious (and patronizing) commentators of the time muttered that Damien’s unvarnished personality was due to his simple farm upbringing in rural Belgium.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 20 July 2026

Definition of pious

Adjective

There are few things in this world more sanctimonious and hypocritical than left-wing sportswriters getting on their faux moral high horse.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026
That’s when the movie takes a direction that’s both maudlin in the true sense of the word and ultimately even sanctimonious regarding the heroine’s sudden redemption.

— Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 17 May 2026

Definition of sanctimonious

Adjective

There is an endless list of important takeaways from the new information, notably that Fauci was repeatedly and purposefully dishonest in order to get the public to comply with his policies and recommendations.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026
But 52% of employees in that same study believe their company's efforts to be empathetic are dishonest.

— Dennis Kozak, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026

Definition of dishonest

Adjective

Navy excels at untangling human emotions and picking through them without being didactic or moralistic.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026
Last year, a YouTube channel called Akhbar Enfejari (Explosive News) began posting a variety of digital content with a political and moralistic bent.

— Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026

Definition of moralistic

Adjective

Murphy, working with Ellis, has expanded the already-strained novel into a nine-episode drama that reaches no conclusion by its finale.

— Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 5 Aug. 2026
Elsewhere during the trip, Steven and Kacie finally repaired their strained relationship after months of tension.

— Deirdre Durkan, PEOPLE, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of strained

Adjective

The teen's father also has a superficial wound on his hands and has been taken to a hospital, Bradshaw said.

— Nadine El-Bawab, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
Ultimately, giving employees back their time through initiatives like four-day workweeks is becoming the ultimate luxury, reflecting a shift towards truly valuing employee well-being over superficial office fun.

— Bryan Robinson, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of superficial

Adjective

Some players cited the league’s partnerships with sports betting companies as hypocritical or even laying the foundation for this sort of scandal.

— Zack Meisel, New York Times, 28 July 2026
Amendments placed on the ballot by lawmakers would still need only a statewide majority — a distinction critics call hypocritical.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 27 July 2026

Definition of hypocritical

Adjective

In the early 1930s, the Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times correspondent Walter Duranty wrote stories denying the famine that Joseph Stalin’s forced-collectivization policies were causing in Ukraine and mocked journalists who reported the truth.

— James Kirchick, The Atlantic, 29 July 2026
Hanoi has rejected the USTR’s findings as inaccurate, pointing to its strict anti-forced-labor policies and compliance with International Labour Organization rules.

— Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 27 July 2026