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Synonym Chooser

How is the word piety distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of piety are allegiance, devotion, fealty, fidelity, and loyalty. While all these words mean "faithfulness to something to which one is bound by pledge or duty," piety stresses fidelity to obligations regarded as natural and fundamental.

filial piety

When would allegiance be a good substitute for piety?

While the synonyms allegiance and piety are close in meaning, allegiance suggests an adherence like that of citizens to their country.

pledging allegiance

When is it sensible to use devotion instead of piety?

While in some cases nearly identical to piety, devotion stresses zeal and service amounting to self-dedication.

a painter's devotion to her art

When might fealty be a better fit than piety?

Although the words fealty and piety have much in common, fealty implies a fidelity acknowledged by the individual and as compelling as a sworn vow.

fealty to the truth

When can fidelity be used instead of piety?

The meanings of fidelity and piety largely overlap; however, fidelity implies strict and continuing faithfulness to an obligation, trust, or duty.

marital fidelity

When could loyalty be used to replace piety?

The synonyms loyalty and piety are sometimes interchangeable, but loyalty implies a faithfulness that is steadfast in the face of any temptation to renounce, desert, or betray.

valued the loyalty of his friends

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of piety This helps explain why some women may still feel obliged to have children out of a sense of filial piety. Maro B. Enriquez, Christian Science Monitor, 27 May 2025 The man who once mocked piety had become a moral touchstone; the scold of American pretensions now dined with tycoons. Lauren Michele Jackson, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025 But a groundswell of protest art was answering the call with a new kind of ardent feeling that damned the false piety and hypocrisy of homophobic Christian doctrine. Marc Weingarten, Los Angeles Times, 22 May 2025 Wallen is constantly trying to find new ways to navigate the tension between pleasure and piety, Saturday night and Sunday morning, his horniness and his self-loathing—already the grist for a thousand doleful ballads. Amanda Petrusich, New Yorker, 16 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for piety
Recent Examples of Synonyms for piety
Noun
  • Spectators swarmed in from around the country to see the legendary lawyers battle over creationism, evolution and the role of religion in government.
    Angele Latham, The Tennessean, 10 July 2025
  • The Revolution set the stage for a new nation based not on ethnicity or geography or religion, but on striving for democratic principles.
    Time, Time, 10 July 2025
Noun
  • The outer appearances distracted me from the inner holiness.
    Rabbi Jack Engel, Sun Sentinel, 17 June 2025
  • However, Christianity honored the holiness of these transgender saints.
    Sarah Barringer, The Conversation, 27 May 2025
Noun
  • Wealth is a draw for the rich and poor alike, a capitalist paradise rooted in fervent belief and devotion.
    Emi Eleode, Time, 14 July 2025
  • The crackdown often intensifies around sensitive dates – especially his birthday – but devotion to the spiritual leader has quietly endured.
    Simone McCarthy, CNN Money, 3 July 2025
Noun
  • Reagan restored the country’s faith after the national traumas of the Vietnam era and won passage of a significant tax reform bill and a major immigration measure, though his efforts to tame mounting federal deficits proved largely unsuccessful.
    Carl Leubsdorf, Mercury News, 12 July 2025
  • To all my babies that are listening to this one, big up yourself always because faith and hard work toward your vision will eventually place your dreams at your feet.
    Matthew Strauss, Pitchfork, 11 July 2025
Noun
  • By the late 1970s, Gayden had embraced transcendental Indian and Native American spirituality and formed the funk and jazz jam band Skyboat.
    Marcus K. Dowling, The Tennessean, 2 July 2025
  • In Ideals of the East, Okakura argues that Asian civilization is founded on a shared tradition of spirituality and that Japanese art uniquely reflects this tradition because of Japan’s ability to hybridize different cultures without melting them down into an undifferentiated mishmash.
    Waiyee Loh, JSTOR Daily, 2 July 2025
Noun
  • If anything, the blue-and-red Cubs hat made his allegiance clear.
    Virginia Chamlee, People.com, 9 July 2025
  • Patriotic education does not mean propaganda to produce blind allegiance to the government.
    Linda McMahon, The Orlando Sentinel, 6 July 2025
Noun
  • At the checkout and after entering your Kroger loyalty ID or scanning a loyalty card, shoppers can scan a barcode on the flyer that downloads all the Weekly Digital Deals offered that week at once to the customer's loyalty card.
    Susan Selasky, Freep.com, 8 July 2025
  • Your ability to fully engage with your team, even for a few minutes, can build trust and loyalty far faster than long meetings filled with distractions.
    Dr. Eric George, Forbes.com, 8 July 2025
Noun
  • Duckworth encourages readers to cultivate long-term dedication to their goals, overcome setbacks, and maintain a growth mindset to achieve excellence.
    Jann E. Freed, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
  • Soliman's case has attracted wide attention since about 75 supporters held a press conference about his case just after his arrest: Local parents and medical professionals have been writing the immigration court, extolling his dedication to sick children.
    Patricia Gallagher Newberry, The Enquirer, 14 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Piety.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/piety. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.

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