Pharisee
/ˈfɛɹɪsiː/US/ˈfɛɹɪsi/
Pharisee noun: a member of an ancient Jewish political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 B.C.E.–70 C.E.). The movement was ultimately the basis for most contemporary forms of Judaism.
Noun
Pharisee (plural Pharisees)
- A member of an ancient Jewish political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 B.C.E.–70 C.E.). The movement was ultimately the basis for most contemporary forms of Judaism.
- Then understood they how that he bade them not beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC
- I cannot tell. They [Jews]are always doing it. The Pharisees, for instance, say that there are angels, and the Sadducees declare that angels do not exist.1904, Oscar Wilde, Salomé
- A person who values the letter of the law over its spirit or intention.
- He was, and is yet most likely, the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses to his neighbours.1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], “chapter III”, in Wuthering Heights: […], volume (please specify |volume=I or II), London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […], →OCLC
- The spider fattens himself on flies, and the Pharisee has his reward. Foolish persons are easily entrapped by the loud professions of pretenders, and even the more judicious cannot always escape.c. 1870, Charles Spurgeon, Morning and Evening
Pharisee meaning in Hindi, Tagalog, Arabic and Malay
Pharisee in Hindi
- member of an ancient Jewish political party, social movement, etc
- फ़रीसी farīsī
Pharisee in Tagalog
- member of an ancient Jewish political party, social movement, etc
- Pariseo
Pharisee in Arabic
- member of an ancient Jewish political party, social movement, etc
- فَرِّيسِيّ farrīsiyy
Pharisee in Malay
- member of an ancient Jewish political party, social movement, etc
- Farisi
More languagesFewer languages
- Pharisee in Indonesian
- farisi
Forms of Pharisee
| plural | Pharisees |
|---|
Origin of Pharisee
From Latin Pharisaeus, from Ancient Greek Φαρισαῖος (Pharisaîos), a transliteration of Aramaic פְּרִישַׁיָּא (pərîšayyâ’), emphatic plural of פְּרִישׁ (pərîš, “separatist”, literally “separated”), related to Hebrew פרוש (parush), qal passive participle of the verb פָּרַשׁ (pāraš), meaning one who is separated for a life of purity.
Words formed from Pharisee
Words that rhyme with Pharisee
Questions about Pharisee
- What does Pharisee mean?
- Pharisee means a member of an ancient Jewish political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews that flourished during the Second Temple Era (536 B.C.E.–70 C.E.). The movement was ultimately the basis for most contemporary forms of Judaism.
- What is Pharisee in Hindi?
- Pharisee in Hindi is फ़रीसी (farīsī). See Pharisee meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is Pharisee?
- Pharisee is a noun.
- How do you pronounce Pharisee?
- Pharisee is pronounced /ˈfɛɹɪsiː/ (UK).
- What is the plural of Pharisee?
- The plural of Pharisee is Pharisees.
Words near Pharisee in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Pharisee (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.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-Pharisee.wav.
Cite this entry: “Pharisee.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pharisee. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.