Meaning & use
self-righteousness
Last updated
Meaning
noununcountabledisapproving
the belief that you are morally better than other people, shown in a way that annoys others.
Grammar: No plural and no 'a': 'full of self-righteousness'. It is a disapproving word.
Patterns
- a tone of self-righteousness
- full of self-righteousness
His speech was full of self-righteousness, as if only he knew the truth.
She criticized the self-righteousness of people who judged her choices.
There was a note of self-righteousness in his voice that made everyone uncomfortable.
Common combinations
- a tone of self-righteousness
- He spoke with a tone of self-righteousness that irritated his colleagues.
- full of self-righteousness
- The article was full of self-righteousness and offered no solutions.
- moral self-righteousness
- Their moral self-righteousness made real discussion impossible.
- accuse someone of self-righteousness
- Critics accused the group of self-righteousness.
Synonyms and how they differ
- sanctimony
- A formal word with the same disapproving idea, but much rarer and mainly used in writing.
- priggishness
- Focuses on behaving as if you are more correct or proper than others, often in small everyday matters.
Opposites
Word family
- self-righteous adjective
- Believing you are morally better than others.
- righteousness noun
- The quality of being morally right or good, without the negative idea.
- self-righteously adverb
- In a way that shows you think you are morally better than others.
Commonly confused: self-righteousness or righteousness?
self-righteousness vs righteousness
Righteousness is simply being good or just; self-righteousness adds the disapproving idea of feeling superior to others.
Practice
Choose the sentence that uses 'self-righteousness' correctly.
Choose one answer.
Self-righteousness is uncountable, so it does not take 'a' or a plural. 'A self-righteousness' and 'self-righteousnesses' are wrong, and 'the' is not needed here.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “self-righteousness”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.