SYNONYMS AND RELATED EXPRESSIONS
self-righteous
adjective
Convinced of one's own moral superiority, often intolerantly.
Local English device voice, when available. This is not a recorded dictionary pronunciation.
Assuming moral superiority
Closest synonyms
Related words and expressions
These extend or explain the idea and may require a different sentence structure.
Usage distinction
Return to topSelf-righteous adds an unfavorable judgment about excessive certainty in one's own virtue. Moralistic and preachy chiefly concern the way moral lessons are delivered.
CHECK THE MEANING IN CONTEXT
See self-righteous in use
His self-righteous lecture left no room for anyone else's perspective.
A self-righteous volunteer declared anyone arriving by car morally inferior without listening to a participant who could not carry equipment on the bus.
Compare an alternative with the original word in each passage. Shared meanings do not make every pair interchangeable.
Synonym reference scope and sources
The groups distinguish the senses selected for this study entry. Closest synonyms and broader related expressions have separate labels. The listed sources support lexical selection; not every phrase is a direct quotation from a source.
How the synonym reference was prepared / WordNet 3.0 license