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holier-than-thou

ho·li·er-than-thou
H h

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [hoh-lee-er-th uh n-th ou]
    • /ˈhoʊ- ðæn, ðɛn ðaʊ/
    • /ˈhəʊ.li ðən ðaʊ/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [hoh-lee-er-th uh n-th ou]
    • /ˈhoʊ- ðæn, ðɛn ðaʊ/

Definitions of holier-than-thou word

  • adjective holier-than-thou obnoxiously pious; sanctimonious; self-righteous. 1
  • noun holier-than-thou a person who is obnoxiously pious or self-righteous. 1
  • adjective holier-than-thou sanctimonious 1
  • adjective holier-than-thou If you describe someone as holier-than-thou, you disapprove of them because they seem to believe that they are more religious or have better moral qualities than anyone else. 0
  • noun holier-than-thou offensively sanctimonious or self-righteous 0
  • adjective holier-than-thou self-righteous; overly pious 0

Information block about the term

Origin of holier-than-thou

First appearance:

before 1910
One of the 15% newest English words
First recorded in 1910-15

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Holier-than-thou

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

holier-than-thou popularity

This term is known only to a narrow circle of people with rare knowledge. Only 29% of English native speakers know the meaning of this word.
According to our data about 71% of words is more used. This is a rare but used term. It occurs in the pages of specialized literature and in the speech of educated people.

Synonyms for holier-than-thou

adj holier-than-thou

  • artificial — Artificial objects, materials, or processes do not occur naturally and are created by human beings, for example using science or technology.
  • goody-goody — a person who is self-righteously, affectedly, or cloyingly good.
  • sanctimonious — making a hypocritical show of religious devotion, piety, righteousness, etc.: They resented his sanctimonious comments on immorality in America.
  • smug — contentedly confident of one's ability, superiority, or correctness; complacent.
  • snobbish — of, relating to, or characteristic of a snob: snobbish ideas about rank.

See also

Matching words

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