Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

pious

/ˈpaɪəs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.31 in modern English

Syllables: pi-ous
IPA: /ˈpaɪəs/

7

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

Of or pertaining to piety, exhibiting piety, devout, god-fearing.

adj

Relating to religion or religious works.

adj

Insisting on or making a show of one's own virtue, especially in comparison to others; sanctimonious, condescending, judgmental.

Example Sentences

"Old Deacon Smith was quick to see the impression made by Abby Howard upon the mind of his son, and he was wonderfully pleased thereat, for Abby was the oldest daughter of the good Deacon Howard, and was herself a church member, and pious. He had more hope for his son now, than he had felt for years."
"Its male residents dress like crows: heavy black suits, black Borsalino hats, the old grandfathers hugely whiskered and the boys in peot, the curled sidelocks of the pious."
"A pious cause."

Etymology

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *pewH- Proto-Italic *pīosder. Latin piusbor. English pious Borrowed from Latin pīus (“pious, dutiful, blessed, kind, devout”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“pure”). Cognate with Old English fǣle (“faithful, trusty, good; dear, beloved”). More at feal.

Origin

Source language: Latin

Word Breakdown

Root: *pewH-, pīus

Regional Pronunciation

British English: /ˈpaɪəs/

Inflected Forms

more pious (comparative) most pious (superlative)

Derived Forms

overpious pi piously piousness pseudopious superpious ultrapious unpious

Phrases

offensive to pious ears pious fiction pious fraud

Frequently Paired Words

piety

Synonyms

devout dutiful godly observant reverent reverential Allah-fearing devoutful frum godfearing heavenly-minded inward

Antonyms

impious independent profane

Rhymes With

bias elias darius tobias himalayas mathias prius matthias zacharias impious dyas dais

Questions

How do you pronounce pious?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpaɪəs/.
What does pious mean?: Of or pertaining to piety, exhibiting piety, devout, god-fearing.
Where does pious come from?: It is traced to Latin.

How to pronounce pious

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “pious”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpaɪəs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “pious”.
Repeat and practice — Say “pious” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.