as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
an impious act that horrified their pious mother
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Recent Examples of impious
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.
—
Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.
—Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.
—Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 2024
Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impious
Adjective
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Any extra trimmings would land somewhere between glib and sacrilegious.—
Sophie Monks Kaufman,
IndieWire,
3 Sep. 2025
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Drinking a Bloody Mary at night just feels wrong and confusing, sacrilegious even, which is hilarious because everything else goes.—
Jeremy Repanich,
Robb Report,
30 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But isn't the whole idea blasphemous?—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
9 Sep. 2025
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This may sound blasphemous for a Fixed Earth sign, but spontaneity works best sometimes.—
Valerie Mesa,
People.com,
23 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Herzl and many other Zionist luminaries came from secular backgrounds, but the movement also included more observant Jews.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
16 Sep. 2025
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The strong gains look set to continue for TSLA from a technical perspective, noting the stock is far from overbought territory per the monthly stochastics, and the upper boundary of a secular uptrend channel puts resistance above $500.—
Katie Stockton,
CNBC,
15 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The second is an indie approach that’s often more confrontational, irreverent and angry at the injustice and indifference AIDS patients faced.—
Scott Malia,
The Conversation,
10 Sep. 2025
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The whole this is very slapstick and irreverent, and the story is advanced almost exclusively by wacky deus ex machinas.—
James Folta,
Literary Hub,
10 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impious. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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