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Glite Dictionary
self-righteously

self-righteously

1 7.7
Acting as if your actions and opinions are better than other people's
  • adverb
  • /ˌsɛlfˈraɪtʃəsli/
translation icon : con autosuficiencia
  • The Commander's own words testify to the fact that he becomes a victim of the same divine law he self-righteously espouses.

Examples

  • The Commander's own words testify to the fact that he becomes a victim of the same divine law he self-righteously espouses.

  • We do not intend to dictate self-righteously their form of government, but neither are we obligated to support dictatorial forms of government.

    Academic text (1990)

  • Dressage seems like the sort of thing its practitioners would self-righteously claim is just as much a mental challenge as it is physical.

    Blog text (18)

  • "Calvin and I don't do that," I informed them self-righteously.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Seriously, did you even read this petition before you self-righteously signed it with your artisanal ink well and ironic quill?

    Blog text (17)

  • Those descriptors fit the general population just as readily as they’re so self-righteously applied to the mentally ill segment of our population.

    Blog text (18)

  • You self-righteously pretend to serve your country, but it is your own ego that you serve.

  • Dressage seems like the sort of thing its practitioners would self-righteously claim is just as much a mental challenge as it is physical.

Synonyms

sanctimoniously
vsself-righteously
1 9.0

Acting as if morally better than others but not truly

expresses moral superiority without implying hypocrisy
priggishly
vsself-righteously
  • Offensive
9.9

In a way that shows someone thinks they are morally better than others

shows firm belief that one's own actions and morals are better than others
preachily
vsself-righteously
  • Informal
8.2

In a way that gives moral advice and sounds like a lecture

conveys moral superiority by lecturing rather than by quiet belief

How Self-Righteous

self-righteously
1 7.7

Surface Forms

self-righteously positive

Morphology

self-righteously = self-righteous (transparent) = self + righteous + ly

The adverb is a regular derivation formed by adding '-ly' to the adjective 'self-righteous', and the adjective's meaning is compositionally 'self' + 'righteous' with clear semantics for learners.

Etymology

Self-righteously comes from self ('oneself') and right ('correct' or 'moral'), plus the ending -ly which makes it describe how someone acts. So to act self-righteously is to behave as if you are more 'right' than others, often in a proud or judging way.