SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

self-righteousness

noun

as in sanctimoniousness

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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-righteousness But Flynn also oozes sniveling self-righteousness while hotly defending and petitioning for childhood innocence (amusing hints emerge that the daughter is a somewhat lazy and dim underachiever). — Christopher Smith, Oc Register, 7 Apr. 2026 But where the stalker remains self-deluded to the end, Jack’s self-righteousness is tinged with self-awareness. — Matt Zoller Seitz, Vulture, 11 Dec. 2025 But Chapman later grew worried that self-righteousness and a hunger for dominance shaped the attitudes of Conservative Resurgence leaders after their movement ended. — Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025 Roberts performs as Yale philosophy Professor Alma, the self-righteousness that dazzles in her eyes subjugates Edebiri as Maggie, her self-effacing star pupil. — Malik Peay, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025 Such comparisons are too easily drawn, with too much self-righteousness, as though the guilt for what was done to the Jews could be lightened just a little by likening them to their own murderers. — Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025 Biases, confusion, cynicism, self-righteousness muddy the waters. — Liz Butterfield Wallingford, Christian Science Monitor, 23 July 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-righteousness

Noun

The situation gets even worse once Bonnie’s concerned parents try to connect their daughter with friends by buying her a Lilypad, a child-appropriate smart tablet in frog-like casing, voiced with slappably perky self-satisfaction by Greta Lee.

— David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 16 June 2026
After 50 minutes of self-satisfaction, the hero fades serenely into a sunset that Dudamel made miraculously mystical.

— Mark Swed, Los Angeles Times, 3 June 2026

Definition of self-satisfaction

Noun

In the wrong hands, those points of reference could land like an affectation, but instead, the band’s embrace of them feels genuine.

— Nick Laskin, Pitchfork, 20 May 2026
The 33-year-old Indianapolis native can trace its origins to a natural inclination toward performing and a lifelong admiration of Diane Sawyer and Katie Couric, but there's no step-by-step guide on how Sullivan mastered the affectation.

— Heather Bushman, IndyStar, 4 May 2026

Definition of affectation

Noun

Camouflage, concealment, and deception Protecting missile infrastructure also depends on preventing an adversary from developing an accurate target list.

— Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 14 July 2026
The snake charmer is, in effect, a stand-in for Gérôme, whose art relies on seduction and deception.

— Zachary Fine, New Yorker, 13 July 2026

Definition of deception

Noun

To leave the character at the center of his own story opaque, unknowable, a silhouette—would have been a different kind of dishonesty.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 14 July 2026
While a large number of respondents were concerned about AI bias, misinformation and data privacy, the most common worries were about academic dishonesty and plagiarism.

— Brett DeJager, The Conversation, 10 July 2026

Definition of dishonesty

Noun

The one where a man, his mother, and his entire army are slaughtered by deceit?

— Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 July 2026
The two chief executives are just a few months removed from a lawsuit in which Musk, one of the founders of OpenAI, accused Altman of deceit and breach of contract by shifting the company from its nonprofit mission to a for-profit enterprise.

— Antonio Pequeño IV, Forbes.com, 11 July 2026

Definition of deceit

Noun

At 61, unaligned to any party faction and with no pretensions to the highest office, the Scot would represent little threat to Burnham.

— Ian King, CNBC, 15 July 2026
Impartial, fact-finding and without pretension, Burns turns his camera to our history in a sober-but-not-boring manner.

— Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 29 June 2026

Definition of pretension

Noun

Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.

— Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025
Beyond the deceptiveness of the narrow material view, spiritual light and hope are always present to be found and felt.

— Sue Brightman, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Jan. 2025

Definition of deceptiveness

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self-righteous

self-righteousness

self-rule

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“Self-righteousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-righteousness. Accessed 18 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of self-righteousness

noun

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