as in moralistic
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Recent Examples of pharisaical
Lists are no substitute for criticism, but those who take them as inimical to criticism are pharisaical.
—
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2022
David and Samuel explore the U.S. energy sector and evaluate what the future holds in an ESG landscape that has done its very best to bring economic incoherence to its pharisaical agenda.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 16 Jan. 2022
Yet Marlin makes clear that excommunication was never a real threat but rather one that Cuomo shrewdly used to turn himself into a victim of pharisaical bishops.
—Vincent J. Cannato, National Review, 7 Nov. 2020
Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 6 Dec. 2022
David and Samuel explore the U.S. energy sector and evaluate what the future holds in an ESG landscape that has done its very best to bring economic incoherence to its pharisaical agenda.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 16 Jan. 2022
Yet Marlin makes clear that excommunication was never a real threat but rather one that Cuomo shrewdly used to turn himself into a victim of pharisaical bishops.
—Vincent J. Cannato, National Review, 7 Nov. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pharisaical
Adjective
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The United States has flipped from a moralistic benefactor to a transactional predator of Kyiv’s resources.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN,
24 Feb. 2025
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Cigarettes were first popularized in a more moralistic era.—
Cal Newport,
The New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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This is the sanctimonious language of social media — the tone and medium Adichie criticized in her 2021 blog post — not of a nuanced social novel.—
Sanjena Sathian,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2025
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My point is simply that these perspectives have been so abused in America that God has become a sanctimonious prop that has more to do with a person’s politics than with any authentic spiritual insight.—
B.G. White,
Hartford Courant,
18 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The grieving sisters try to uncover the truth about what happened to Grace, and increasingly suspect Roger’s pious, overbearing sister Angelica (Fiona Shaw) of wrongdoing — but turn out to be (mostly) wrong about her intentions.—
Meredith Blake,
Los Angeles Times,
24 Dec. 2024
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Advertisement Nazanin goes through the same preparations as Salme, who has turned supremely pious in the intervening years, and Zari, who has grown more level-headed, not to say jaded.—
Charles McNulty,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Conclave depicts the Catholic church at an inflection point, with warring political factions proving themselves vain, self-serving, and hypocritical in their pursuit of power.—
Randall Colburn,
EW.com,
27 Feb. 2025
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As resident jester at the maverick journalism outlet The Free Press, Nellie Bowles scours the news for the absurd and hypocritical, and then skewers the best of the worst in her column, TGIF.—
Roy Rivenburg,
The Christian Science Monitor,
26 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Hellbent on destroying the pure, chaste and overly self-righteous preacher who denied her satisfaction, Salome performs a seductive dance at her stepfather Herod’s birthday feast.—
E.R. Zarevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
4 Mar. 2025
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Her character is annoyingly self-righteous, but also very attractive and seemingly interested in David.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
26 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Phillip, Portland, Ore. A: Unlike baseball, with some of its holier-than-thou decisions with its Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame largely looks at career on-court achievements.—
Ira Winderman,
Sun Sentinel,
18 Feb. 2025
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The story prompted an uproar from fans of Michigan’s Big Ten opponents, who saw Harbaugh as a cheater and Michigan’s holier-than-thou image as a fraud, and urged commissioner Tony Petitti to take action.—
Austin Meek,
The Athletic,
8 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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For some readers, such accolades read as insincere or overwrought.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
13 Feb. 2025
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Honest criticism is rude, and insincere praise is — well, insincere.—
Judith Martin,
The Mercury News,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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The maguey imparts a subtly vegetal flavor, and cooks reserve just enough fat so that each bite of meat is unctuous.—
Edmund Tijerina,
Bon Appétit,
27 Feb. 2025
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Mandelson is a deeply charming, borderline unctuous character.—
Sam Knight,
The New Yorker,
20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pharisaical.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pharisaical. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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