sanctimonious
adjective
sanc·ti·mo·nious
| \ ˌsaŋ(k)-tə-ˈmō-nē-əs
, -nyəs\
, -nyəs\
Definition of sanctimonious
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Examples of sanctimonious in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Pier Kids is comprised of many such off-handed, hard-hitting moments, scenes that constantly frustrate the easy readings of both the ignorant and the sanctimonious. — Keith Uhlich, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Pier Kids': Film Review | Outfest 2019," 22 July 2019 Instead, Wynn uses a different tool to humorously undermine her most sanctimonious right-wing targets: seduction. — Katherine Cross, The Verge, "The Oscar Wilde of YouTube fights the alt-right with decadence and seduction," 24 Aug. 2018 The 65-minute-long panel was a sanctimonious love letter to the liberal media with only occasional reflection about how to improve themselves and win back supporters. — Brian Flood, Fox News, "CNN star Brian Stelter claims 'Trump is poisoning the American people' with anti-media attacks," 6 July 2018 And policymakers from both parties think that, as the world’s attention shifts to Asia, whining, sanctimonious Europeans deserve less of their time. — The Economist, "The Western alliance is in trouble," 5 July 2018 Hard to argue with that, but California's left knows a few tricks too, and the sometimes sanctimonious sanctuary movement certainly plays to the base. — Steve Lopez, latimes.com, "Opposition to 'sanctuary state' law gains ground, but is it a pointless political ploy?," 9 May 2018 My desire for friends outweighed my duty to uphold the sanctimonious culinary standards of my parents’ homeland. — Carla Ciccone, Bon Appetit, "The “Italians Mad at Food” Twitter Account Is Too Real to My Life," 7 May 2018 For generations gay folk like me have had to listen to sanctimonious people peddle backwards notions about human nature, science, sexuality and gender roles. — Billy Maddalon - Contributing Columnist, Observer Editorial Board, charlotteobserver, "'Values' bullies are killing LGBTQ children | Charlotte Observer," 3 May 2018 Yet questioning if the accord is fair to America or will forestall global warming is reliably met with sanctimonious scorn. — Stewart Easterby, WSJ, "Climate Activists Are Lousy Salesmen," 25 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sanctimonious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for sanctimonious
sanctimonious
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of sanctimonious
formal + disapproving
: pretending to be morally better than other people
See the full definition for sanctimonious in the English Language Learners Dictionary
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