as in atheistical
not showing proper reverence for the holy or sacred
an impious act that horrified their pious mother
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Recent Examples of impious
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.
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Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
Some seem startlingly impious.
—Lidija Haas, Harper's Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Bragadin’s cash was funding heavy gambling and elaborate, impious scenes of seduction.
—Clare Bucknell, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
Both narratives, private and public, differently restrict our access, so the ideal historian will need great tact and an impious curiosity.
—James Wood, The New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2023
Sarah Thompson, the MFA’s curator of Japanese Art, and curatorial assistant Kendall DeBoer, who put the show’s more than 350 works together, deserve credit for being impious, not reverent.
—Globe Staff, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Mar. 2023
Some seem startlingly impious.
—Lidija Haas, Harper's Magazine, 18 Aug. 2020
To cut short these death throes is both impious (for those who believe) and immoral (for anyone).
—Michel Houellebecq, Harper’s Magazine , 6 Jan. 2023
Bragadin’s cash was funding heavy gambling and elaborate, impious scenes of seduction.
—Clare Bucknell, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impious
Adjective
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This declaration should not be mistaken for vain clickbait or an attempt to be sacrilegious.Dr. Marcus Collins, Forbes, 12 Dec. 2024
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Putting Vice and the Bard in the same sentence sounds sacrilegious, but the movie paints Lynne Cheney as a Lady MacBeth type and requires Adams to recite iambic pentameter about Dick’s capacity to usurp some of George W. Bush’s authority.Matthew Jacobs, Vulture, 6 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The publication led to global outrage, with many Muslims finding the depictions highly offensive and blasphemous.The Arizona Republic, The Arizona Republic, 30 Sep. 2024
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Rushdie’s fourth fictional novel ran into a global controversy shortly after its publication in September 1988, as some Muslims saw passages about Prophet Muhammad as blasphemous.Reuters, NBC News, 8 Nov. 2024
Adjective
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Because at roughly the same time, Christmas was also changing and becoming virtually two holidays: a spiritual holy day that focused on the Good News of the birth of Jesus Christ, and a secular commercial phenomenon that had little to do with Christianity at all.Gord Magill, Newsweek, 20 Dec. 2024
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Against these secular themes, Lee believes that small- and mid-cap stocks are best positioned as potential beneficiaries.Lisa Kailai Han, CNBC, 19 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Questions as fun and irreverent as these are asked and answered in STAR BOUND: A Beginner’s Guide to the American Space Program, from Goddard’s Rockets to Goldilocks Planets and Everything In Between.Rebecca Coffey, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
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For The Win's daily sports newsletter pairs the latest news from around the sports world with the smartest − yet somewhat irreverent – takes from FTW's staff.Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 16 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near impious
Cite this Entry
“Impious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impious. Accessed 31 Dec. 2024.
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