Vocabulary
Sanctimonious
English and Urdu gloss, synonyms and antonyms, and example usage from our editorial sentence cache where available.
English meaning
making a show of being morally superior to other people.
Urdu meaning
درویشانہ، ولی کی صورت کار،ریاکار
Example sentences (from Dawn)
Sentences are selected from stored editorial text where your search word appears. If none appear yet, run the admin sentence generator for fuller coverage.
- In a sanctimonious statement after the recent G7 summit in Canada, the grouping termed Iran as `the principal source of regional instability and terror`, while mouthing the tired shibboleth about Israel`s `selfdefence`.
- It is the kind of sanctimonious alarmism that sounds intelligent until you hold it up to basic scrutiny.
- Many Western states have issued typically sanctimonious statements criticising Hamas, and reiterating Israel`s right to defend itself.
Synonyms
self-righteous, churchy, holier-than-thou, pious, moralizing, pietistic, smug, unctuous,
Antonyms
forthright, honest, open, sincere
Curator example
“what happened to all the sanctimonious talk about putting his family first?”
More vocabulary to explore
About this vocabulary section.
These entries support close reading of Dawn editorials and opinion pieces: short definitions,
Urdu equivalents where we have them, word relations, and—when generated—real lines from the editorial archive
so you can see tone and usage.
Common questions
- Do I need to sign up to use this vocabulary page?
- No. Word pages are open to everyone. You can read meanings in English and Urdu, synonyms and antonyms, and example sentences without creating an account.
- Where do the example sentences come from?
- When available, example sentences are drawn from cached matches in our Dawn editorial corpus so you can see how a word is used in real newsroom-style prose.
- How is this different from a dictionary?
- This section is curated for students preparing for competitive exams and editorial reading. Entries are compact, often include Urdu glosses, and are paired with in-context lines from editorials when we have them.
