devout

adjective

de·​vout di-ˈvau̇t 

1

: committed or devoted to religion or to religious duties or exercises

a devout Catholic

2

: expressing piety or religious fervor : expressing devotion

a devout attitude

3

a

: devoted to a pursuit, belief, or mode of behavior : serious, earnest

a devout baseball fan

born a devout coward

—G. B. Shaw

b

: warmly sincere

a devout wish for peace

devoutly adverb

devoutness noun

Synonyms

• constant
• dedicated
• devoted
• down-the-line
• faithful
• fast
• good
• loyal
• pious
• staunch
• stanch
• steadfast
• steady
• true
• true-blue

Examples of devout in a Sentence

It is his devout wish to help people in need.

devout Red Sox fans never lost faith during the long World Series drought

Recent Examples on the Web

Here, the Pacifica played with devout focus, bringing us into the territory of late Beethoven and late Shostakovich. —Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024

But that is exactly what the 72-year-old devout Catholic and grandmother has become to some in this northern California county — which has been convulsed by conspiracy theories about voter fraud and other extremist ideologies over the last three years. —Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2024

Feulner came from a devout Roman Catholic family, while Weyrich himself was an ordained deacon of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church. —Samantha Riedel, Them, 1 Nov. 2024

But the devout young Lewis, who famously preached to the chickens on his family’s land, was hungry to become educated and to involve himself in the civil rights struggle. —Barbara Spindel, The Christian Science Monitor, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin devotus, from Latin, past participle of devovēre — see devote

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

devout

adjective

de·​vout di-ˈvau̇t 

1

: devoted to religion or to religious duties or exercises

2

: expressing devotion

a devout attitude

3

a

: devoted to an activity, belief, or type of behavior

a devout baseball fan

b

: earnest entry 2 sense 1, sincere

gave them devout thanks

devoutly adverb

devoutness noun