holier-than-thou

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holier-than-thou

/ˈhəʊ.li.ə ðən ˈðaʊ/ UK
/ˈhoʊ.li.ɚ ðən ˈðaʊ/ US

Rhymes with -aʊ

Where it comes from

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).

adjective more holier-than-thou · most holier-than-thou

derogatory Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior. [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, [...]
Similar: airy, arrogant, chesty, authoritarian, biggity, big-headed, blustery, turgescent, boastful, lordly, bombastic, buggish

Translations

Every language

adj hypocritically or self-righteously pious

Español	santurrón, gazmoño
中文	自命清高 zìmìngqīnggāo, 道貌岸然 dàomào'ànrán
Português	santo do pau oco
Français	benoît, bigot
Deutsch	scheinheilig
Русский	лицемерный licemernyj, благочестиво-лицемерный blagočestivo-licemernyj, самодовольный samodovolʹnyj

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MLA

"holier-than-thou." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/holier-than-thou. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

holier-than-thou. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/holier-than-thou

Chicago

"holier-than-thou." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/holier-than-thou.

BibTeX

@misc{holier_than_thou_2026,
  title = {holier-than-thou},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/holier-than-thou},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}