piety

CEFRB2

/ˈpaɪ̯ɪti/

noun

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    Deep respect and devotion to God or religious beliefs.

  2. 02

    noun

    Extra detail

    A devout or otherwise laudable act, thought, or statement.

Examples

  • Is this what passes for piety?

  • Piety is the child of ignorance.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
1
Citations
1

Also pronounced

  • [ˈpʰaɪ̯ɪɾɪi̯]
  • [ˈpʰaɪ̯ɪtʰɪi̯]

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings

  1. Similar reverence to one's parents and family or to one's country.

  2. Reverence and devotion to God.

  3. A platitude that may be empty or at least facile and undercommitted.

More examples

In context

  • Colleen's piety led her to make sacrifices that most people would not have made.

  • He was quick with the pieties about hard work, honest communication, active listening, and respecting others' viewpoints, but walking the walk is different from talking the talk.

  • patriotism as piety, when done right

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The old monk's frequent prayers and fasting every day demonstrated his blank.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

From Middle English piete, borrowed from Middle French pieté, from Latin pietās. See also the doublets pietà and pity. By surface analysis, pious + -ety.