Synonyms of sanctimonious
90 similar words
Another word for sanctimonious is self-righteous. Other synonyms of sanctimonious are arrogant, vain, cocky, smug and pompous.
Synonyms and similar words for sanctimonious
adjectiveMaking a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.
- holier-than-thouHypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior.
- pietistic
- smugIrritatingly pleased with oneself; offensively self-complacent, self-satisfied.
- self-righteousPiously self-assured and smugly moralistic.
- airy
- arrogantHaving excessive pride in oneself, often with contempt or disrespect for others.
- chesty informal
- authoritarian
- biggityConceited, uppity.
- big-headed slang
- blustery
- turgescent formalBecoming turgid or swollen.
- boastfulTending to boast or brag.
- lordly
- bombasticShowy in speech and given to using flowery or elaborate terms; grandiloquent; pompous.
- cockyOverly confident; arrogant and boastful.
- conceited
- disdainfulShowing contempt or scorn; having a pronounced lack of concern for others viewed as unworthy.
- domineeringOverbearing, dictatorial or authoritarian.
- egotistical
- entitled
- flauntingThat flaunts; showy or gaudy.
- full of oneselfEgotistical, believing oneself to be superior to others; preoccupied with one's own work, interests, point of view, etc.
- grandiose
- hanktyOverbearing; pompous.
- haughtyConveying in demeanour the assumption of superiority; disdainful, supercilious.
- high-handedUsing power or authority without proper consideration for the feelings or rights of others.
- high-hat colloquialDisdainful; haughty.
- high and mighty
- highfalutin colloquialSelf-important, pompous; arrogant or egotistical.
- hoity-toity colloquial
- hubristicOf or relating to hubris (“excessive arrogance or pride, or presumption”); hence, overly arrogant or proud, or...
- hubristicalHubristic.
- imperious
- inflated
- insolentRude.
- la-di-da
- ostentatious
- overbearingOverly bossy, domineering, arrogant, forceful, intense, or annoying.
- overweeningUnduly confident; (sometimes also) arrogant.
- pompousAffectedly grand, solemn or self-important.
- presumptuousMaking unwarranted presumptions or assumptions, often out of arrogance or excessive self-confidence, and thus exceeding...
- pretentious
- priggishLike a prig.
- puffed up
- self-importantHaving, or behaving as if having, too high an opinion of one's own importance.
- snobbish slangHaving the property of being a snob; arrogant and pretentious; smugly superior or dismissive of perceived inferiors.
- snooty slangHaughty, pompous, snobbish; inclined to turn up one's nose.
- snotty slang
- stout
- stuck up slang
- superciliousArrogantly superior; showing contemptuous indifference; haughty.
- thrasonicThrasonical.
- thrasonicalBoastful, bragging, vainglorious.
- toplofticalHaughty, hoity-toity, superior.
- toploftySelf-important, haughty.
- tumid
- turgid
- uppish
- uppityPresumptuous, above oneself, self-important; arrogant, snobbish, haughty.
- uppySynonym of uppity.
- upstageHaughty, aloof.
- vainOverly proud of oneself, especially concerning appearance; having a high opinion of one's own accomplishments with...
- buggish dialectal, obsoleteUppity.
- flatulent obsolete
- glorious obsoleteExcessively proud or boastful.
- haught obsoleteHaughty.
- haut obsolete
- orgulous archaic, literaryArrogant, haughty, proud.
adjectiveHoly, devout.
- godlyDevoted to a god or God; devout; holy; righteous.
- piousOf or pertaining to piety, exhibiting piety, devout, god-fearing.
- blessedWorthy of worship; holy.
- sacredCharacterized by solemn religious ceremony or religious use, especially, in a positive sense; consecrated, made holy.
- Allah-fearingDevoutly Muslim; pious; very Islamic.
- devout
- frumPious, observant; committed to obeying all the laws of Judaism.
- godfearingDevout; pious; very religious.
- heavenly-mindedDevout; heavenly; pious; of pure mind.
- observantPracticing a religion.
- practicingParticipating in the rituals and mores of a religion.
- saintedPious, saintly.
- celestial
- divineEternal, holy, or otherwise godlike.
- hallowedConsecrated or sanctified; sacred, holy.
- heavenlyOf or pertaining to Heaven, the eternal celestial abode of God or the gods.
- holy
- devoutful obsoleteFull of devotion; devoted or pious.
- inward obsoleteDevoted to spiritual matters, pious, devout.
- piteous obsoleteShowing devotion to God.
- religionary obsoleteRelating to religion; pious.
Meaning of sanctimonious
- adjective Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.
- adjective Holy, devout.
sanctimonious in other languages
Questions about synonyms of sanctimonious
- What is another word for sanctimonious?
- Sanctimonious has 90 synonyms on Word.ws, such as self-righteous, arrogant, vain, cocky, smug, pompous, presumptuous and haughty.
- What does sanctimonious mean?
- Sanctimonious means making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: sanctimonious (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of sanctimonious.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/sanctimonious. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.