piety

/ˈpaɪədi/

/ˈpaɪɪti/

Other forms: pieties

Piety is devotion to God or to religious practices. Nuns who pray all day long are famous for their piety. If you have filial piety it means you're devoted to your parents.

Piety is sometimes used in a disapproving way to mean that the person is only pretending to be devoted or good. It was borrowed from the French word pieté, meaning "piety or pity," ultimately from the Latin pius, "devoted, kind." This Latin adjective is also the source of our English adjective pious.

Definitions of piety

1. noun

   righteousness by virtue of being pious
   synonyms: piousness

   antonyms:

   impiety

   unrighteousness by virtue of lacking respect for a god

   types:

   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

   pietism, religionism, religiosity, religiousism

   exaggerated or affected piety and religious zeal

   type of:

   righteousness

   the quality of adhering to moral principles