saintly

adjective

saint·​ly ˈsānt-lē How to pronounce saintly (audio)
saintlier; saintliest
: relating to, resembling, or befitting a saint : holy
saintliness noun

Examples of saintly in a Sentence

a saintly man who devoted his life to caring for the dying
Recent Examples on the Web In Delia’s eyes, Peter is a saintly silver fox, whose fondness for baseball and the great outdoors is only eclipsed by his passion for philosophy and feminism. Patrick Ryan, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024 Such saintly behavior aside, one part of Jack that was becoming less sanctified was his body. Dan Koeppel, Outside Online, 5 Sep. 2019 Silicon Valley’s saintly elevation of the founder-entrepreneur follows a century of management theory that celebrated such figures for their work ethic and higher purpose. Margaret O’Mara, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2022 However, the names of Louisville's saintly neighborhoods can be directly traced back to some of the area's first churches and hospitals, not the holy men themselves. Leo Bertucci, The Courier-Journal, 18 Apr. 2024 See all Example Sentences for saintly 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'saintly.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1534, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of saintly was in 1534

Dictionary Entries Near saintly

Cite this Entry

“Saintly.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saintly. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

saintly

adjective
saint·​ly ˈsānt-lē How to pronounce saintly (audio)
saintlier; saintliest
: relating to, resembling, or proper for a saint : holy
saintliness noun

More from Merriam-Webster on saintly

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!