ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsSsanctimonious
ISEE/SSAThard
sanctimonious
Meaning: making a hypocritical show of moral superiority
sanctimonious in a sentence
How sanctimonious is used in real sentences:
His sanctimonious lecture ignored his own history of dishonest conduct.
Her sanctimonious rebuke sounded hollow after she broke the same rule herself.
“Training also matters: a sanctimonious attorney who loudly praises fairness while mocking accented speech undermines the very principle being celebrated.”
— from the passage Between Speech and Judgment
“The concertmaster, Elise, offered a sanctimonious speech about professional courtesy, then winked at the suspected author as if virtue were merely another costume.”
— from the passage The Unfinished Finale
Synonyms for sanctimonious
Other words for sanctimonious — self-righteous, priggish and smug — carry the same meaning.
- self-righteous
- priggish
- smug
Antonyms of sanctimonious
Words that mean the opposite of sanctimonious:
- humble
- sincere
- unassuming
Where it comes from
From Latin sanctimonia, meaning 'holiness' or 'purity.'
Word parts
- sacr/sanct — holy; sacred
sanctimonious: sanct (holy) + -imony (state or quality) + -ous (having the quality of)
Memory hook
SANCTIMONIOUS contains SANCT, or holy: it describes someone pretending to be holier than others.
Practice sanctimonious in the app