as in pious
disapproving
having or showing a strong belief that your own actions, opinions, etc., are right and other people's are wrong
a self-righteous tone It's OK to criticize, but don't get self-righteous about it.
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Recent Examples of self-righteous
Because strength in a character dimension can operate in an excess vice state when not supported by other dimensions, there is a danger of unbalanced character manifesting in the dangerous space of being self-righteous.
—
Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
The film also adopts an unfortunate and unearned self-righteous tone, especially in the credits.
—Anupama Chopra, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
They are sent off to a grandmother in Ontario who is the epitome of cold, self-righteous Protestant virtue.
—Margaret Atwood, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
Today's Democratic party is dominated by self-righteous, upper-middle class, coastal elites—people wealthy enough to avoid sending their children to failing public schools and able to overlook the true costs of their green agenda.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-righteous
Mary Crossan, Forbes.com, 8 May 2025
The film also adopts an unfortunate and unearned self-righteous tone, especially in the credits.
—Anupama Chopra, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
They are sent off to a grandmother in Ontario who is the epitome of cold, self-righteous Protestant virtue.
—Margaret Atwood, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
Today's Democratic party is dominated by self-righteous, upper-middle class, coastal elites—people wealthy enough to avoid sending their children to failing public schools and able to overlook the true costs of their green agenda.
—Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for self-righteous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-righteous
Adjective
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Those healthy enough were put through a daily regimen of religious education and physical schooling intended to train them to be pious and obedient.—
Ann Foster,
JSTOR Daily,
9 July 2025
-
Moyers’ preacher-like delivery and emphasis on high moral standards in his commentaries led some people to criticize him as being a pious scold.—
Stephen Battaglio,
Los Angeles Times,
27 June 2025
Adjective
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Of course, most of these sanctimonious snore-mongers linger on in one shrunken form or another, still screaming obscenities and shaking their fists at the moon.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
28 June 2025
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The smug and sanctimonious tenor of their briefing makes that plain.—
Christie D’Zurilla,
Los Angeles Times,
18 June 2025
Adjective
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According to Orly Mazur, a tax specialist and associate professor at SMU Dedman School of Law, more people are likely willing to risk being dishonest when filing taxes.—
Marley Malenfant,
Austin American Statesman,
2 July 2025
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And worse yet, someone might be dishonest with you.—
Georgia Nicols,
Denver Post,
23 June 2025
Adjective
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But Europeans cannot simply revert to a moralistic tendency to tell others what to do.—
Josep Borrell Fontelles,
Foreign Affairs,
27 June 2025
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The same moralistic spirit that once defined Minnesota’s politics now fuels passionate polarization.—
David Schultz,
New York Daily News,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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But not Hochman, whose strained diplomacy has raised eyebrows.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
9 July 2025
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The story of Mbappe’s move to the Bernabeu last summer and his strained relations with PSG could fill several tomes, given the intensity of Madrid’s almost decade-long pursuit of the forward — and the fallout continues to this day.—
Adam Crafton,
New York Times,
8 July 2025
Adjective
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These outcomes reflect the program’s focus on authentic skill development rather than superficial exposure.—
Sarah Hernholm,
Forbes.com,
14 July 2025
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But the dustup over the building renovation is just a superficial sign of the underlying tension between the administration and the central bank.—
Scott Horsley,
NPR,
14 July 2025
Adjective
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Douglass’s decision to speak on July 5, deliberately after Independence Day celebrations, symbolically underscored his argument: America’s celebration of freedom was bitterly ironic and deeply hypocritical in the context of slavery and racial oppression.—
Ed Gaskin,
Boston Herald,
4 July 2025
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Seems hypocritical compared with other legal vices allowed in the Land of Lincoln.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
2 July 2025
Adjective
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Thankfully, Sedgwick and Bacon don’t just rely on their natural ease with one another, but infuse their characters with something real, even though the circumstances that bring them together feel somewhat forced.—
Tomris Laffly,
Variety,
10 June 2025
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This feels a bit forced and corny, and the director becomes even more outlandish depicting Maggi’s dreams as their relationship feels fully unsalvageable: a rooster disturbs him in real life, then visits him in giant, anthropomorphized form in his dream to injure him or worse.—
David Katz,
IndieWire,
18 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Self-righteous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-righteous. Accessed 20 Jul. 2025.
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