sanctimonious

English

WOTD – 4 February 2010

Etymology

From sanctimony +‎ -ous.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/, /ˌsæŋk.təˈməʊ.ni.əs/
• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈmoʊ.ni.əs/, /ˌsæŋk.təˈmoʊ.ni.əs/

• Audio (General Australian):

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• Audio (US):

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• Rhymes: -əʊniəs

Adjective

sanctimonious (comparative more sanctimonious, superlative most sanctimonious)

1. Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.
   • c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii]:

     Thou conclud'st like the sanctimonious pirate, that went to sea with the Ten Commandements, but scrap'd one out of the table.

   • 1847, Alfred Tennyson, “Prologue”, in The Princess: A Medley, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 6:

     [O]ne / Discuss'd his tutor, rough to common men / But honeying at the whisper of a lord; / And one the Master, as a rogue in grain / Veneer'd with sanctimonious theory.

   • 2007, Alan Farrell, High Cheekbones, Pouty Lips, Tight Jeans, Lulu.com, →ISBN, page 77:

     It'd be easy to write off Michael Moore as a fat, scruffy, sanctimonious Bolchevik poseur (actually, I do write off Michael Moore as a fat, scruffy, sanctimonious Bolchevik poseur) but the fact is that there's about five minutes of cleverness in this […]

   • 2013, Ronald F. Marshall, Kierkegaard for the Church: Essays and Sermons, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN, page 333:

     And this is indeed needed, since we who consider these awkward Christian ideas are but fearful, sanctimonious people, as Kierkegaard once put it so passionately: O, you sanctimonious people with your love which does not set you apart […]

2. (archaic) Holy, devout.

Derived terms

• DeSanctimonious
• sanctimoniously
• sanctimoniousness

Related terms

• sanctimony

Translations

making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically

• Bulgarian: престорено набожен (prestoreno nabožen)
• Danish: skinhellig, hyklerisk (hypocritical), farisæisk (pharisaic. Archaic)
• Dutch: schijnheilig (nl),hooghartig (nl)
• Esperanto: bigota, farisea, hipokrita
• Finnish: tekopyhä (fi), pyhimysmäinen, hurskasteleva (fi), (colloquial) jeesusteleva
• French: hypocrite (fr), faux dévot (fr), tartuffe (fr), bigot (fr), confit en dévotion
• Galician: moino m, doido m, mansoño m
• German: frömmelnd (de), scheinheilig (de), pfäffisch
• Greek: ψευδευλαβής m (psevdevlavís), αγιοφανής (agiofanís)
• Hebrew: מתחסד, צדקני
• Hindi: पाखण्ड (hi) (pākhaṇḍ)
• Hungarian: szenteskedő (hu), álszent (hu)
• Indonesian: sok suci
• Irish: diagasúil, bréagchráifeach, béalchráifeach
• Italian: tartufo (it), santimonia (it), pretesco m, tartufesco m, baciapile (it), bacchettone (it) m
• Norwegian Bokmål: skinnhellig
• Norwegian Nynorsk: skinheilag
• Polish: świętoszkowaty (pl), świętojebliwy (pl) (vulgar)
• Portuguese: santimonial
• Russian: ханжеский (ru) (xanžeskij)
• Scottish Gaelic: beul-chràbhach, breug-chràbhach
• Spanish: santurrón m, (colloquial) santón m, gazmoño (es) m, mojigato (es) m, (Bol.) pechoño m, meapilas (es), tartufo (es) m, chupacirios (es), santulón m (Argentina)
• Swedish: skenhelig (sv)
• Turkish: yobaz (tr) (jɔ.baz) (colloquial)
• Yiddish: פֿרומאַקיש (frumakish), צבֿועקיש (tsvuyakish), באַגאָטיש (bagotish)

holy, devout — see holy,‎ devout