holier-than-thou
/ˈhoʊ.li.ɚ ðən ˈðaʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: 2.54 in modern English
23
Scrabble Score
14
Letters
3
Syllables
10
Unique Chars
Meaning
Example Sentences
- "[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, [...]"
- "Hippolytus is quite insufferable in his endless protestations of pity and purity. One tires of such abnormal goodness and wishes for a little natural depravity. He is a perfect type of the "holier than thou" individual whose secret heart is a very stagnation of egotism, selfishness and disregard for others' feelings."
- "His garb is such as any gentleman might wear—a farmer, a thrifty mechanic, a teacher, or a plain business man—a brown slouch hat, any kind of a simple necktie, any kind of a coat except the unctuous holier-than-thou broadcloth with the front full of button holes."
- "I don't think the "black is white" campaign of the Republican Party is going to succeed. I think the voters are going to see through this holier-than-thou disguise that our Republican friends are putting on."
- "But I can understand the hon. member's sense of sanctimony; he has now been a member of the NDP caucus for a while and the holier-than-thou attitude has been bred into him."
- "The Soviet economy is hurting now, and I say that not holier-than-thou, but it is; factually, the Soviet economy is in bad shape."
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).
Word Breakdown
- Root: קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˈhoʊ.li.ɚ ðən ˈðaʊ/
- British English: /ˈhəʊ.li.ə ðən ˈðaʊ/
Usage
Inflected Forms
more holier-than-thou (comparative)
most holier-than-thou (superlative)