Definition

Noun: 1. Hypocritical righteousness or devoutness: The quality of pretending to be morally superior or more pious than one actually is. It involves a false or exaggerated display of religious devotion, virtue, or moral correctness.

Examples of Usage

• His constant lectures about charity were revealed as mere when it was discovered he gave nothing himself.
• The politician's on family values was undermined by his personal scandals.
• She saw through the of his pious declarations.

Advanced Usage

• "An air of sanctimony": A manner or attitude that conveys hypocritical moral superiority.
  • He answered every criticism with an infuriating air of sanctimony.
• "Empty sanctimony": Used to emphasize that the hypocritical display is entirely without genuine substance.
  • The public grew tired of the empty sanctimony from corporate leaders.

Variants and Related Words

• Sanctimonious (adjective): Behaving in a way that suggests one is morally superior to others; characterized by sanctimony.
  • He was a sanctimonious preacher who judged everyone harshly.
• Sanctimoniousness (noun): The state or quality of being sanctimonious; a synonym for sanctimony.

Synonyms

• Hypocrisy
• Pietism
• Pharisaism
• Self-righteousness
• Cant

Related Idioms

• "Holier-than-thou": An adjective or noun describing a sanctimonious person or attitude.
  • I can't stand his holier-than-thou lectures.

Noun

1. the quality of being hypocritically devout