| Library / English Dictionary |
PIETY
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Righteousness by virtue of being pious
Synonyms:
piety; piousness
Classified under:
Nouns denoting attributes of people and objects
Hypernyms ("piety" is a kind of...):
righteousness (adhering to moral principles)
Attribute:
pious (having or showing or expressing reverence for a deity)
impious (lacking piety or reverence for a god)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "piety"):
devoutness; religiousness (piety by virtue of being devout)
dutifulness (piety by virtue of devotion to duty)
godliness (piety by virtue of being a godly person)
Antonym:
impiety (unrighteousness by virtue of lacking respect for a god)
Context examples:
For having strictly examined all the persons of greatest name in the courts of princes, for a hundred years past, I found how the world had been misled by prostitute writers, to ascribe the greatest exploits in war, to cowards; the wisest counsel, to fools; sincerity, to flatterers; Roman virtue, to betrayers of their country; piety, to atheists; chastity, to sodomites; truth, to informers: how many innocent and excellent persons had been condemned to death or banishment by the practising of great ministers upon the corruption of judges, and the malice of factions: how many villains had been exalted to the highest places of trust, power, dignity, and profit: how great a share in the motions and events of courts, councils, and senates might be challenged by bawds, whores, pimps, parasites, and buffoons.
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
