as in atheistic
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
But even Patton’s weather prayer looks timid next to Hegseth’s impious rage.
—
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2026
While no formal announcement has been made to update its longstanding alcohol ban, Andrew Leber of Tulane University said this is in line with the Kingdom’s past approach to such potentially impious reforms.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.
—Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.
—Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 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
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
Tom Nichols, The Atlantic, 30 Mar. 2026
While no formal announcement has been made to update its longstanding alcohol ban, Andrew Leber of Tulane University said this is in line with the Kingdom’s past approach to such potentially impious reforms.
—Hugh Cameron, MSNBC Newsweek, 9 Dec. 2025
The only true dictionary is the lost one, the dictionary of the language that perished when the impious tower was built: the original language, God’s language.
—Mariana Dimópulos, Harpers Magazine, 26 Mar. 2025
This game must have seemed profane to the Greeks, or even impious.
—Simone Weil, Harper's Magazine, 2 July 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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impious
Adjective
-
His father's death during World War II influenced his pursuit of the ministry even amid the officially atheistic communist regime of the Soviet Union, according to his obituary on the OCU website.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
20 Mar. 2026
-
But there has been a recent rise in secular congregations that explicitly mimic religious organizations and rituals to celebrate atheistic worldviews.—
Jacqui Frost,
The Conversation,
11 Jan. 2024
Adjective
-
The president's post was interpreted as sacrilegious even by those who usually support him.—
Kathryn Watson,
CBS News,
13 Apr. 2026
-
The Next Generation was sacrilegious to most Trekkies.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
28 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
As soon as Talarico’s primary victory over Jasmine Crockett was certain, conservatives called on those remarks and others to swiftly and uniformly deride his Christianity as blasphemous and insincere.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
24 Apr. 2026
-
The image sparked backlash, including from many American Catholics, who called it blasphemous.—
Jeanine Santucci,
USA Today,
16 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
And naturally, Anthony Bourdain made his own pilgrimage, offering his approval like a secular blessing.—
Jimmy Jellinek,
SPIN,
27 Apr. 2026
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The other is completely secular—thoroughly of this age, thoroughly of this world.—
Peter Wehner,
The Atlantic,
27 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Chas Newkey-Burden has been part of The Week Digital team for more than a decade and a journalist for 25 years, starting out on the irreverent football weekly 90 Minutes, before moving to lifestyle magazines Loaded and Attitude.—
Chas Newkey-Burden,
TheWeek,
24 Apr. 2026
-
When The Rocky Horror Show began on stage in London in 1973, it was celebrated for its outrageous, irreverent spirit.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
24 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
For decades, the Georgia Guidestones were nothing more than kitschy roadside Americana – a curiosity people visited for fun, intrigue, and the occasional pagan ritual.—
Ryan Lattanzio,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2026
-
The area Life is decidedly unhurried in this part of the world, where the sunkissed monte landscape is punctuated by cork, olive, and oak trees, wild horses frolic in meadows, and huge granite dolmens hint at a pagan past.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impious. Accessed 1 May. 2026.
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