Word.ws English Dictionary

cleanliness is next to godliness

cleanliness is next to godliness proverb: it is important and morally sound to keep one's body and home clean; those who practice purity and wholeness are close to God.

Proverb

cleanliness is next to godliness

  1. It is important and morally sound to keep one's body and home clean; those who practice purity and wholeness are close to God.

Origin of cleanliness is next to godliness

First recorded in a sermon by John Wesley in 1778.

Questions about cleanliness is next to godliness

What does cleanliness is next to godliness mean?
Cleanliness is next to godliness means it is important and morally sound to keep one's body and home clean; those who practice purity and wholeness are close to God.
What part of speech is cleanliness is next to godliness?
Cleanliness is next to godliness is a proverb.

Words near cleanliness is next to godliness in the dictionary

  1. cleanish
  2. cleanlier
  3. cleanliest
  4. cleanlily
  5. cleanliness
  6. cleanliness is next to godliness
  7. cleanlinesses
  8. cleanly
  9. cleanness
  10. cleannesses
  11. cleanout

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cleanliness is next to godliness (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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