pious

C2+ Topic:Describing Qualities

US /ˈpaɪəs/ UK /ˈpaɪəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

adj
devoutly religious, or hypocritically virtuous

She led a quiet, pious life of prayer.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adj · devoutly religious, or... devout religious reverent godly saintly sanctimonious holy

Opposites

impious irreligious profane irreverent

Word family

Forms piously

Derived forms piouslypiousness

Related forms piety pity expiate

Appears in

Phrases (1)

See all

pious jew
a Jewish person who shows sincere religious devotion

Adjective + noun

Simplified etymology

Pious derives from Latin pius. The Latin word had a wider range than its modern English descendant, describing qualities that included dutifulness toward parents, loyalty, affection, compassion, and kindness as well as religious devotion.

Etymology

From Latin pius ('dutiful, devout, conscientious'), of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps from Proto-Italic *pīwos.

pius Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing Qualities

External links

# pious

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adj
**IPA (US):** /ˈpaɪəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈpaɪəs/

## Meanings
1. devoutly religious, or hypocritically virtuous

## Examples
- She led a quiet, pious life of prayer.

## Synonyms
- devout
- religious
- reverent
- godly
- saintly
- sanctimonious
- holy

## Antonyms
- impious
- irreligious
- profane
- irreverent

## Derived Forms
- piously
- piousness

## Related Forms
- piety
- pity
- expiate

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: pius

## Etymology
From Latin pius ('dutiful, devout, conscientious'), of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps from Proto-Italic *pīwos.

## AI Etymology
Pious comes from Latin pius ('dutiful, devout, conscientious'), of uncertain ultimate origin, perhaps from Proto-Italic *pīwos. The etymological trail includes Latin pius. As an adjective, pious means devoutly religious, or hypocritically virtuous. The same family is visible in derived forms such as piously and piousness and related forms such as piety, pity, and expiate. The uncertainty belongs to the older derivation, so the explanation should preserve alternatives rather than choosing one unsupported origin.

## Topics
- Describing Qualities

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