self-righteous.

Confident in one’s own moral correctness in a way that dismisses others or resists criticism.

Use it for

Words that belong together

• a self-righteous tone
• self-righteous indignation

On the page

His self-righteous tone made even a reasonable objection difficult to accept.

She distrusted the self-righteous certainty with which the committee absolved itself.

Usage notes

Primary category: psychological / character. Forms: Comparative more self-righteous; superlative most self-righteous where gradation is meaningful. Legacy lexical fields mirror sense 1 only. Use numbered sense fields for all meanings.