holier-than-thou

adjective
UK: /ˌhəʊ.li.ər ðən ˈðaʊ/
US: /ˌhoʊ.li.ər ðən ˈθaʊ/

  1. Behaving as if you are morally better than other people.

    1. She has a holier-than-thou attitude, judging everyone around her.
    2. His holier-than-thou attitude makes him difficult to work with because he constantly criticizes others.

Synonyms

self-righteous sanctimonious pious superior
holier-than-thou noun

  1. The attitude of being or acting morally superior to others.

    1. I can't stand his holier-than-thou attitude.
    2. The professor adopted a holier-than-thou tone, lecturing students on their ethics.

Frequently Asked Questions

The phonetic transcription of "holier-than-thou" is /ˌhəʊ.li.ər ðən ˈðaʊ/ in British English and /ˌhoʊ.li.ər ðən ˈθaʊ/ in American English. Click the 🔊 button to hear both pronunciations.

Synonyms for "holier-than-thou": self-righteous, sanctimonious, pious, superior.

Example usage of "holier-than-thou": "She has a holier-than-thou attitude, judging everyone around her.". More examples on the page.