Standard Lemma guide

sanctimonious

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/
  • UK: /ˌsæŋk.təˈməʊ.ni.əs/
  • US: /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈmoʊ.ni.əs/
  • US: /ˌsæŋk.təˈmoʊ.ni.əs/
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -əʊniəs
  • CMU ARPABET: S AE2 NG K T AH0 M OW1 N IY0 AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • Near-synonyms: smug, self-righteous; see also Thesaurus:arrogant

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: holier-than-thou, pietistic, smug, self-righteous, airy, arrogant, chesty, authoritarian, biggity, big-headed, blustery, boastful, lordly, bombastic, buggish, cocky, conceited, disdainful, domineering, egotistical, entitled, flatulent, flaunting, full of oneself, glorious, grandiose, hankty, haught, haughty, haut, high-handed, high-hat, high and mighty, highfalutin, hoity-toity, hubristic, hubristical, imperious, inflated, insolent, la-di-da, orgulous, ostentatious, overbearing, overweening, pompous, presumptuous, pretentious, priggish, puffed up, sanctimonious, self-important, snobbish, snooty, snotty, stout, stuck up, supercilious, thrasonic, thrasonical, toploftical, toplofty, tumid, turgid, uppish, uppity, uppy, upstage, vain

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Holy, devout.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: archaic

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: godly, pious, blessed, sacred, Allah-fearing, devout, devoutful, frum, godfearing, heavenly-minded, inward, observant, piteous, practicing, religionary, sainted, sanctimonious, celestial, divine, hallowed, heavenly, holy

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective satellite

Meaning 3

excessively or hypocritically pious

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a sickening sanctimonious smile

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: holier-than-thou, pietistic, pietistical, pharisaic, pharisaical, self-righteous

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Etymology tree English sanctimony Proto-Indo-European *h3ed- Proto-Indo-European *-os Proto-Indo-European *h3édosder.? Proto-Italic *-ŏ̄dsos? Old Latin -ōssus Latin -ōsus Old French -usbor. Middle English -ous English -ous English sanctimonious From sanctimony + -ous.

Across languages

Translations

66 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: престорено набожен (prestoreno nabožen) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Chinese Mandarin: 虛偽 /虚伪 (xūwěi) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Chinese Mandarin: 偽善 /伪善 (wěishàn) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Chinese Mandarin: 道貌岸然的 (dàomào'ànrán de) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Danish: skinhellig — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Danish: hyklerisk — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Danish: farisæisk — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Dutch: schijnheilig — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Dutch: hooghartig — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Esperanto: bigota — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Esperanto: farisea — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Esperanto: hipokrita — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Finnish: tekopyhä — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Finnish: pyhimysmäinen — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Finnish: hurskasteleva — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Finnish: jeesusteleva — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • French: hypocrite — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • French: faux dévot — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • French: tartuffe — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • French: bigot — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • French: confit en dévotion — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Galician: moino — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Galician: doido — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Galician: mansoño — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • German: frömmelnd — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • German: scheinheilig — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • German: pfäffisch — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Greek: ψευδευλαβής (psevdevlavís) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Greek: αγιοφανής (agiofanís) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Hebrew: מתחסד — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Hebrew: צדקני — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Hindi: पाखण्ड (pākhaṇḍ) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Hungarian: szenteskedő — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Hungarian: álszent — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Indonesian: sok suci — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Irish: diagasúil — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Irish: bréagchráifeach — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Irish: béalchráifeach — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Italian: tartufo — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Italian: santimonia — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Italian: pretesco — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Italian: tartufesco — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Italian: baciapile — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Italian: bacchettone — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Norwegian Bokmål: skinnhellig — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: skinheilag — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Polish: świętoszkowaty — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Polish: świętojebliwy — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Portuguese: santimonial — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Russian: ха́нжеский (xánžeskij) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Scottish Gaelic: beul-chràbhach — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Scottish Gaelic: breug-chràbhach — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: santurrón — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: santón — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: gazmoño — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: mojigato — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: (Bol.) pechoño — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: meapilas — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: tartufo — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: chupacirios — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Spanish: santulón — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Swedish: skenhelig — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Turkish: yobaz (jɔ.baz) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Yiddish: פֿרומאַקיש (frumakish) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Yiddish: צבֿועקיש (tsvuyakish) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically
  • Yiddish: באַגאָטיש (bagotish) — making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically