Piety Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of piety · 1 : the quality or state of being pious: such as. a : fidelity to natural obligations (as to parents). b : dutifulness in religion : ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks JoinMWU MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut piety noun SaveWord pi·​e·​ty |\ˈpī-ə-tē \ pluralpieties Definitionofpiety 1 :thequalityorstateofbeingpious:suchas a :fidelitytonaturalobligations(astoparents) b :dutifulnessinreligion:devoutness 2 :anactinspiredbypiety 3 :aconventionalbelieforstandard:orthodoxy Synonyms&Antonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym TheComplicatedUsesofPious ExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutpiety Synonyms&Antonymsforpiety Synonyms devotion,faith,religion Antonyms atheism,godlessness VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforpiety fidelity,allegiance,fealty,loyalty,devotion,pietymeanfaithfulnesstosomethingtowhichoneisboundbypledgeorduty.fidelityimpliesstrictandcontinuingfaithfulnesstoanobligation,trust,orduty. maritalfidelity allegiancesuggestsanadherencelikethatofcitizenstotheircountry. pledgingallegiance fealtyimpliesafidelityacknowledgedbytheindividualandascompellingasaswornvow. fealtytothetruth loyaltyimpliesafaithfulnessthatissteadfastinthefaceofanytemptationtorenounce,desert,orbetray. valuedtheloyaltyofhisfriends devotionstresseszealandserviceamountingtoself-dedication. apainter'sdevotiontoherart pietystressesfidelitytoobligationsregardedasnaturalandfundamental. filialpiety TheComplicatedUsesofPious Pioushasabitofanimageproblem.Fromthebeginningofitsuseinthe15thcenturythisLatindescendanthasbeenusedtodescribethosewhoaresimplyveryreligious—thatis,whoaredeeplydevotedtotheirreligion—butithasforcenturiesalsodescribedthosewhomakeashowoftheirreligiousnessanduseittoasserttheirsuperiority.Weseebothinliterature: Shesentforaminister,too,aserious,pious,goodman,andappliedherselfwithsuchearnestness,byhisassistance,totheworkofasincererepentance,thatIbelieve,andsodidtheministertoo,thatshewasatruepenitent….—DanielDefoe,MollFlanders,1722 Thereareathousandhackingatthebranchesofeviltoonewhoisstrikingattheroot,anditmaybethathewhobestowsthelargestamountoftimeandmoneyontheneedyisdoingthemostbyhismodeoflifetoproducethatmiserywhichhestrivesinvaintorelieve.Itisthepiousslave-breederdevotingtheproceedsofeverytenthslavetobuyaSunday'slibertyfortherest.—HenryDavidThoreau,Walden,1854 Overtheyearsothermeaningshavedevelopedtoo.Piouscanbeusedpositivelytodescribethosewhoaredutifulorvirtuous,orthingsthatareworthy.Anditcanbeusednegativelytodescribehypocrisy.Itisalsousedneutrallytodistinguishwhatisreligiousfromwhatisnonreligiousincontent,asinthishumorousexcerptfromEmilyBrontë's1847WutheringHeights: Josephwasanelderly,nay,anoldman—veryold,perhaps,thoughhaleandsinewy."TheLordhelpus!"hesoliloquizedinanundertoneofpeevishdispleasure,whilerelievingmeofmyhorse,looking,meantime,inmyfacesosourlythatIcharitablyconjecturedhemusthaveneedofdivineaidtodigesthisdinner,andhispiousejaculationhadnoreferencetomyunexpectedadvent. Becausethewordisaboutreligionandreligiousness,manyassociatepiouswiththeBible.Itis,however,whollyabsentfrommanytranslationsoftheBible,probablybecauseofitsambiguousmeaning.Piousis,though,includedinTheNewRevisedStandardVersionandtheparaphrasingLivingBible,amonganumberofothers: TheblessingoftheLordistherewardofthepious,andquicklyGodcauseshisblessingtoflourish.—Sirach11:22,NewRevisedStandardVersion Youtrytolooklikesaintlymen,butunderneaththosepiousrobesofyoursareheartsbesmirchedwitheverysortofhypocrisyandsin.—Matthew23:28,TheLivingBible Piety,whichmostoftenreferstosimplereligiousdevotion,doesn'thavethesameproblem,andismorewidelyusedinbiblicaltranslations. ExamplesofpietyinaSentence Hewasadmiredforhisextremepiety. herpietyisquietbutprofound RecentExamplesontheWeb Dugin,whohasbeenslappedwithU.S.andEuropeanUnionsanctions,haspromotedRussiaasacountryofpiety,traditionalvaluesandauthoritarianleadership,andspokenwithdisdainaboutWesternliberalvalues. — VladimirIsachenkov,ChicagoTribune,22Aug.2022 Sincetheholidayisallaboutfilialpiety(whichisserviceandrespecttoone'sparents,elders,andancestors),thereareseveraltraditionalpracticesassociatedwiththeday,aswellastaboos. — CorinneSullivan,Woman'sDay,14July2022 Attheendofhisremarkable,improbablelife,MalcolmXwasonthecuspofareinventionthatmighthavebeenevenmoresignificantthanhisconversioninprisonfromcriminalpredationtoreligiouspiety. — BrandonM.Terry,TheNewYorkReviewofBooks,25Feb.2021 TheideasarealsoinsidiousbecausemanysoundlikeexpressionsofChristianpietyorharmlessreferencestoUShistory. — JohnBlake,CNN,24July2022 Withhiswhiteturbananddense,graybeard,hisforeheadmarkedbythebruisingprizedbysomeMuslimsasdenotingpietyfromfrequentprayer,Dr.ZawahrihadlittleofbinLaden’scharismaandnoneofhisaccesstofabledfamilywealth. — AlanCowell,BostonGlobe.com,2Aug.2022 Withhiswhiteturbananddense,graybeard,hisforeheadmarkedbythebruisingprizedbysomeMuslimsasdenotingpietyfromfrequentprayer,al-ZawahrihadlittleofBinLaden’scharismaandnoneofhisaccesstofabledfamilywealth. — NewYorkTimes,1Aug.2022 Tofindanswersmeansmoretruth,lessfilialpiety,andGodknowshowmuchmoretime. — VinsonCunningham,TheNewYorker,30May2022 ErasingthelineseparatingpietyfrompoliticsisakeycharacteristicofWhiteChristiannationalism. — JohnBlake,CNN,24July2022 SeeMore Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'piety.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. FirstKnownUseofpiety circa1500,inthemeaningdefinedatsense1 HistoryandEtymologyforpiety Frenchpietépiety,pity,fromOldFrench,fromLatinpietat-,pietas,frompiusdutiful,pious LearnMoreAboutpiety Sharepiety PosttheDefinitionofpietytoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofpietyonTwitter TimeTravelerforpiety Thefirstknownuseofpietywas circa1500 Seemorewordsfromthesameyear DictionaryEntriesNearpiety pietoso piety piewagon SeeMoreNearbyEntries  Statisticsforpiety LastUpdated 4Sep2022 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Piety.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piety.Accessed12Sep.2022. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforpiety piety noun pi·​e·​ty |\ˈpī-ə-tē \ pluralpieties KidsDefinitionofpiety :devotiontoGod:thestateorfactofbeingpious MorefromMerriam-Websteronpiety Nglish:TranslationofpietyforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofpietyforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY invective SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! TestYourVocabulary OddHabitsandQuirks Whichofthefollowingbestdescribesaneasilyirritatedperson? superficial gregarious tetchy flashy Canyouspellthese10commonlymisspelledwords? TAKETHEQUIZ Adailychallengeforcrosswordfanatics. TAKETHEQUIZ SubscribetoAmerica'slargestdictionaryandgetthousandsmoredefinitionsandadvancedsearch—adfree! Merriam-Websterunabridged WordsatPlay 'Dunderhead'andOther‘Nicer’WaystoSayStupid Asillustratedbysomeverysmartpups 10WordsfromPlaceNames Bikini,bourbon,andbadmintonwereplacesfirst 'Pride':TheWordThatWentFromVicetoStrength DoyoutakeprideinPride? WhenWereWordsFirstUsed? 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