Holier-than-thou

//ˈhəʊ.li.ə ðən ˈðaʊ// adj

adj ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Adjective
  1. 1
    Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior. derogatory

    "[T]here are local jealousies and disunities which are not likely to be soothed by the patent fact that companies which most strenuously assert the I-am-holier-than-thou claim daily violate the rules by which they profess to be invariably governed, [...]"

Adjective
  1. 1
    excessively or hypocritically pious wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
affectedairyarrogantauthoritarianbig-headedbiggity

Example

More examples

"I don't like his holier-than-thou attitude."

Etymology

From Isaiah 65:5 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou”; from Biblical Hebrew קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ (qəḏaštîḵā).

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.