as in sanctimoniousness
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Recent Examples of self-righteousness
But Chapman later grew worried that self-righteousness and a hunger for dominance shaped the attitudes of Conservative Resurgence leaders after their movement ended.
—
Liam Adams, Nashville Tennessean, 20 Oct. 2025
Roberts performs as Yale philosophy Professor Alma, the self-righteousness that dazzles in her eyes subjugates Edebiri as Maggie, her self-effacing star pupil.
—Malik Peay, Essence, 9 Oct. 2025
Such comparisons are too easily drawn, with too much self-righteousness, as though the guilt for what was done to the Jews could be lightened just a little by likening them to their own murderers.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for self-righteousness
Noun
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There’s a fine line between righteousness and self-satisfaction, and the second season, which premieres on HBO Max on January 8, frequently stumbles into the latter territory.—
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Enmired in the self-satisfactions and unnamed timidities of childhood, Galinda finds in herself neither canniness nor the need to cultivate it.—
Noun
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Now, though levees may not exactly be back, royal affectations and the disputes that go with them are.—
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That’s probably an affectation.—
Noun
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McCoy is charged with theft by deception, violation of oath of office, and three counts of false statements and writings.—
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Harper got fired for the aforementioned deception.—
Noun
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Jennette McCurdy admitted the hardest part of returning to Hollywood isn’t the work itself, but realizing dishonesty is rewarded in the industry.—
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The memo notes several sustained violations of Austin Police Department general orders, including failure to de-escalate, unreasonable response to resistance, inaccurate and misleading report writing, dishonesty and acts bringing discredit upon the department.—
Noun
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The lack of pretentiousness signals something about who’s welcome there.—
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There’s a pretentiousness that begins to show itself as folks get more comfortable.—
Noun
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Emotional confusion, even deceit, and certainly judgmental attitudes are in the air.—
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Standing against them is notorious kingpin Bada Chaudhary (Sharad Kelkar), whose syndicate operates through layers of deceit through corridors in Saudi Arabia, Ethopia, Italy, Thailand and the UK.—
Noun
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His pretensions—riding around in a grand coach and continuing the weekly levees—as well as his administration’s notorious effort to enforce deference in the 1798 Sedition Act, fell flat.—
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But the soul of the city lies in the West Kowloon Cultural District, where the M+ museum offers art without velvet-rope pretension.—
Noun
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Of course, the retort is that this would be irritating and exasperating to be continually deluged with alerts about AI deceptiveness.—
Cite this Entry
“Self-righteousness.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/self-righteousness. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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