filled with or showing a conviction of being morally superior, or more righteous than others; smugly virtuous
Shane's self-righteous judgement of Hilary infuriated her because it made her feel disrespected.
The definition of self-righteous is a person who believes they have higher morals than others.
An example of self-righteous is someone who talks about their religion as if it is the only possible religion.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"self-righteous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous>.
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self-righteous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous
self-righteous
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"self-righteous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous>.
APA Style
self-righteous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous
self-righteous
adjective
- Smugly or unduly sure of one's own righteousness.
- Exhibiting smug or unwarranted confidence in one's own righteousness: self-righteous remarks.
Related Forms:
- self′-right′eous·ly
adverb
- self′-right′eous·ness
noun
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"self-righteous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous>.
APA Style
self-righteous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous
Adjective
(comparative more self-righteous, superlative most self-righteous)
Origin
self- +"Ž righteous
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
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Cite this page
MLA Style
"self-righteous." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 05 December 2018. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous>.
APA Style
self-righteous. (n.d.). Retrieved December 05th, 2018, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/self-righteous
Sentence Examples
- They will become more bellicose rather than diplomatic, more self-righteous and dismissive when criticized.
- Should he be a little judgmental or self-righteous, try as best you can to ignore words expressed and focus on the emotions he may be trying to express.
- 16-17), and on his part he proclaimed that these sinners would enter into the Kingdom of Heaven before the self-righteous saints (Matt.
- The tendency of the Pharisees was to pay tithe on everything, and to make a self-righteous boast of this (Matt.
Words near self-righteous in the dictionary
- self-righteous
- self-righteously
- self-righteousness
- self-righting