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 spiral of events that follow ups the pathos while quietly commenting on rigid patriarchal rules, male privilege, sanctimonious moral posturing, the denial of women’s bodily autonomy and contempt for otherness, things all still very much with us today.
—
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026
There’s nothing sanctimonious about insisting on civil rights for transgender people nor about fighting for racial justice.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Advertisement For those of us who’ve historically found Stause to be sanctimonious, passive-aggressive, and prone to playing the victim, there’s plenty in both her post and her behavior throughout the reunion to support that view.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
That online comment was characteristic of the usual sanctimonious pablum, the kind of casual moral high ground afforded only to a native English speaker or to someone willfully ignorant of the daily indignities non-native speakers face.
—Sheon Han, Wired News, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 15 Feb. 2026
There’s nothing sanctimonious about insisting on civil rights for transgender people nor about fighting for racial justice.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
Advertisement For those of us who’ve historically found Stause to be sanctimonious, passive-aggressive, and prone to playing the victim, there’s plenty in both her post and her behavior throughout the reunion to support that view.
—Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025
That online comment was characteristic of the usual sanctimonious pablum, the kind of casual moral high ground afforded only to a native English speaker or to someone willfully ignorant of the daily indignities non-native speakers face.
—Sheon Han, Wired News, 27 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sanctimonious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sanctimonious
Adjective
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Maria, austere and deeply pious, runs the business with an iron hand, obsessed with making the family’s origins forgotten.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
14 May 2026
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As Mildred Layton, the pious pastor’s wife first played on screen by Kristin Chenoweth, Ana Gasteyer is in her element.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
21 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Expansion would also likely bring about the need to abolish conference title games, which are increasingly meaningless and would be more so in, say, a world where the first- through fourth-place teams in every conference end up in the playoffs.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
18 May 2026
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Alves de Oliveira argues that Lee is far from being another heritage brand reduced to meaningless licenses.—
Angela Velasquez,
Footwear News,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sanctimonious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sanctimonious. Accessed 24 May. 2026.
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