SELF-RIGHTEOUSNESS Synonyms: 50 Similar and Opposite Words

self-righteousness

noun

as in sanctimoniousness

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Recent Examples of self-righteousness Although humanity’s salvation may appear to come in fits and starts, God’s healing influence always penetrates and gets through callous self-righteousness and indifference. — Mark Swinney, Christian Science Monitor, 21 July 2026 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

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

Assemble a scrapbook or photo album to curate your personal affectations, trinkets, and memories.

— Lisa Stardust, Vogue, 26 July 2026
The steering wheel is flat at the top and bottom—a race-car affectation that feels correct in here—and has a button for the Boost function and another to adjust the aero, but is otherwise refreshingly simple.

— Jason Barlow, Robb Report, 7 July 2026

Definition of affectation

Noun

Recent history suggests that the only effective counter to such meddling is a public statement alerting voters to the deception, by some credibly neutral, nonpartisan authority.

— David D. Kirkpatrick, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
Peter trying to have a normal holiday while grieving Tony, Mysterio’s deception, and the post-credits scene that blows Peter’s life apart — all of it feeds into where the new film finds him.

— Hannah Abraham, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026

Definition of deception

Noun

No interest in the contradictions, the hypocrisy, the inappropriate media friendships, the dishonesty about lockdowns, the lab leak, or masks.

— Ian Miller OutKick, FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026
The detective-heroines (and especially the actress-detectives) in this canon are careful about how performance might be extended to social duplicity, dishonesty, and fraud—but the lady criminals of Victorian detective fiction cross this line easily.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026

Definition of dishonesty

Noun

Gabrielle and Katerina credit the enduring appeal of Dan Tana’s to its persistent lack of pretentiousness.

— Maddie Connors, Los Angeles Times, 14 July 2026
Advertisement Jones uses his antihero’s blunt self-appraisals to avoid the pretentiousness endemic to stories about artists.

— Judy Berman, Time, 2 June 2026

Definition of pretentiousness

Noun

When Gianni Infantino was chosen to replace Sepp Blatter as president of FIFA, he was seen as a reformer, someone who would bring transparency and openness to soccer’s international governing body, which had long been mired in scandal and deceit.

— Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 4 Aug. 2026
In my view, to tell the story of America’s founding without referencing these profound scars is akin to deceit, if not complicity.

— Jacob Ware, The Conversation, 31 July 2026

Definition of deceit

Noun

Like Paul Schrader’s 1982 version of the latter, this is an upscale genre piece whose pretensions towards Art are upfront, starting with a quotation from no less than Schopenhauer.

— Dennis Harvey, Variety, 30 July 2026
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

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 8 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of self-righteousness

noun

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