pi´ous|ness

pi´ous|ness
pi|ous «PY uhs», adjective.
1. having or showing reverence for God; active in worship or prayer; religious: »

The pious old woman made every effort to go to worship each time she could.

2. done or used under pretense of religion: »

a pious fraud, a pious deception.

3. Archaic. dutiful to parents.
4. sacred, as distinguished from secular.
╂[< Latin pīus (with English -ous) dutiful]
–pi´ous|ly, adverb.
–pi´ous|ness, noun.
Synonym Study 1 Pious, devout mean religious. Pious emphasizes showing religion or reverence for God by carefully observing religious duties and practices, such as going to church, and sometimes suggests that more religion is shown than felt: »

She is a pious woman who goes to church every morning.

Devout emphasizes feeling true reverence that usually is expressed in prayer or devotion to religious observances, but may not be shown at all: »

He is a charitable, humble, and devout Christian and a good man.


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • jeal´ous|ness — jeal|ous «JEHL uhs», adjective. 1. fearful that a person one loves may love someone else or prefer someone else: »When my brother sees Mother holding the new baby, he becomes jealous. One may be jealous of the person loved or of the rival. 2.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • griev´ous|ness — griev|ous «GREE vuhs», adjective. 1. hard to bear; causing great pain or suffering; severe: »grievous cruelty. SYNONYM(S): distressing. 2. very evil or offensive; outrageous; flagrant; atrocious: »Murder is a grievous crime in most societies.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • joy´ous|ness — joy|ous «JOY uhs», adjective. joyful; glad; gay: »a joyous song, a joyous person, a joyous city. SYNONYM(S): merry, elated. –joy´ous|ly, adverb. –joy´ous|ness, noun …   Useful english dictionary

  • nerv´ous|ness — nerv|ous «NUR vuhs», adjective. 1. of the nerves: »a nervous disorder. 2. easily excited or upset: »a nervous driver, a nervous dog. A person who has been overworking is likely to become nervous. SYNONYM(S): high strung, excitable, jumpy. 3.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • zeal´ous|ness — zeal|ous «ZEHL uhs», adjective. full of zeal; eager; earnest; actively enthusiastic: »The salesman seems very zealous to please. We made zealous efforts to clean up the house for the party. SYNONYM(S): ardent, fervent. ╂[< Medieval Latin… …   Useful english dictionary

  • mis´cel|la´ne|ous|ness — mis|cel|la|ne|ous «MIHS uh LAY nee uhs», adjective. 1. not all of one kind or nature; of mixed composition or character: »The boy had a miscellaneous collection of stones, butterflies, marbles, stamps, birds nests, and many other things. My… …   Useful english dictionary

  • ab|ste´mi|ous|ness — ab|ste|mi|ous «ab STEE mee uhs», adjective. 1. sparing in eating and drinking; moderate; temperate: »My sister is abstemious in her eating habits; she never eats too much. Abstemious, refusing luxuries, not sourly and reproachfully, but simply as …   Useful english dictionary

  • am|big´u|ous|ness — am|big|u|ous «am BIHG yu uhs», adjective. 1. having more than one possible meaning; permitting more than one interpretation or explanation. The sentence “After John hit Dick he ran away” is ambiguous because one cannot tell which boy ran away.… …   Useful english dictionary

  • am|phib´i|ous|ness — am|phib|i|ous «am FIHB ee uhs», adjective. 1. able to live both on land and in water: »Frogs are amphibious. 2. a) able to travel across land or water: »Some tanks are amphibious. b) trained for amphibious attack or assault: »amphibious troops. 3 …   Useful english dictionary

  • ar´du|ous|ness — ar|du|ous «AHR ju uhs», adjective. 1. hard to do; requiring much effort; difficult: »an arduous lesson. SYNONYM(S): laborious. 2. using up much energy; strenuous: »He enjoys an arduous workout in the gymnasium. 3. hard to climb; …   Useful english dictionary

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