holier-than-thou

1. 1.

   excessively or hypocritically pious

   “a sickening sanctimonious smile”

   Synonymspietisticpietisticalpharisaicpharisaicalsanctimoniousself-righteous

   Similarpious

Questions about holier-than-thou

What does holier-than-thou mean?

holier-than-thou means "excessively or hypocritically pious".

How many syllables are in holier-than-thou?

holier-than-thou has 4 syllables: ho-lier--than--thou. The stress falls on "lier-".

What is another word for holier-than-thou?

Close synonyms include pietistic, pietistical, pharisaic, pharisaical, sanctimonious. Each sense on this page lists its own synonyms, because a word with several meanings rarely has one substitute that works for all of them.

Is holier-than-thou a common word?

holier-than-thou is banded "Uncommon" — turns up in careful writing rather than conversation. The band comes from how often the word appears in a large corpus of everyday English, not from an editor's impression.