holier-than-thou
Hypocritically or self-righteously piousHypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior.
Translations
6 languagesMeaning
1 senses(derogatory)Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior.
scheinheilig
лицемерныйlicemernyj, благочестиво-лицемерныйblagočestivo-licemernyj, самодовольныйsamodovolʹnyj
excessively or hypocritically pious
Origin
From Isaiah 65:5 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Stand by thyselfFrom Isaiah 65:5 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou”; from Biblical Hebrew קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ (qəḏaštîḵā).
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
more holier-than-thou, most holier-than-thou| Comparative | more holier-than-thou Lesson |
|---|---|
| Superlative | most holier-than-thou Lesson |
regular
Synonyms
6 synonyms- excessively or hypocritically pious:pietisticpietisticalpharisaicpharisaicalsanctimoniousself-righteous
Lessons for this word
2 lessons- A2Comparatives — Because it has a comparative form
- A2Superlatives — Because it has a superlative form
See also
neighbours in the dictionaryDictionary text adapted from Wiktionary (Wiktionary contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Open English WordNet / Princeton WordNet (CC BY 4.0, WordNet License); shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. Example sentences and recordings are credited where they appear.