Synonyms of sanctimonious

sanctimonious

adjective

as in pious

formal + disapproving pretending to be morally better than other people

sanctimonious politicians

A sanctimonious speech from someone who refused to acknowledge his own past failings.

Related Words

• pious
• meaningless
• hollow
• moralistic
• strained
• superficial
• hypocritical
• pharisaical
• dishonest
• self-righteous
• fake
• holier-than-thou
• unctuous
• insincere
• false
• forced
• phony
• double
• simon-pure
• mechanical
• contrived
• feigned
• goody-goody
• backhanded
• unnatural
• artificial
• lip
• sham
• counterfeit
• canting
• phony-baloney
• mealy
• jive
• two-faced
• rectitudinous
• simulated
• assumed
• deceitful
• mealymouthed
• empty
• claptrap
• affected
• double-faced
• glib
• pretended
• Janus-faced
• untruthful
• put-on
• double-dealing
• devious
• Pecksniffian
• facile
• left-handed
• bogus
• facetious
• jocular
• tongue-in-cheek
• campy

Dissimilar Words

• sincere
• genuine
• honest
• heartfelt
• artless
• candid
• unfeigned
• direct
• forthright
• plain
• frank
• straightforward
• open
• undesigning
• heart-to-heart

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of sanctimonious

Advertisement For those of us who’ve historically found Stause to be sanctimonious, passive-aggressive, and prone to playing the victim, there’s plenty in both her post and her behavior throughout the reunion to support that view. —Judy Berman, Time, 5 Nov. 2025

That online comment was characteristic of the usual sanctimonious pablum, the kind of casual moral high ground afforded only to a native English speaker or to someone willfully ignorant of the daily indignities non-native speakers face. —Sheon Han, Wired News, 27 Oct. 2025

Forget any sanctimonious spewing sermon about pro sports foolishly believing these types of things would not happen. —Mac Engel, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Oct. 2025

Just enough with the sanctimonious explanations. —Troy Renck, Denver Post, 26 Sep. 2025

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