pieties
Dutiful reverent acts
Pieties is the plural of piety—acts, expressions, or attitudes of religious devotion or dutiful respect.
The word often carries a faintly critical edge, suggesting beliefs that are conventional or performed rather than deeply felt: He mouthed the expected pieties about family values.
Someone's pieties may be sincere or hollow depending on context.
Deep, loyal commitment
- venerationProfound admiring respect
- adorationProfound loving regard
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
- fervorIntense emotional intensity
zeal · faithfulness · godliness · devoutness · religious observance · prayer · contemplation · submission
Formal worship structure
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- sacramentsSacred Christian rites
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
- processionFormal moving line
fasting · ablution · pilgrimage · vespers · matins · novena · rosary · devotional
Moral correctness or virtue
- moral dutyEthical requirement to act
- uprightnessMoral correctness and honesty
- rectitudeMoral straightness
- probityThorough moral honesty
conscience · integrity · moral obligation · obedience · faithfulness · loyalty · honor · decency
Feigned moral superiority
- cantSanctimonious insincerity
- lip serviceInsincere expression of agreement
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
- insincerityLack of genuine feeling
dissembling · posturing · feigning · sham · self-righteousness · holier-than-thou · moralizing · preachiness
Traditional practices or import taxes
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- conventionsAccepted social practices
- dogmasAuthoritative established beliefs
doctrines · precepts · tenets · sacred duties · ancestral rites · religious customs · folk beliefs · received wisdom
devotion
Deep, loyal commitment
- venerationProfound admiring respect
- adorationProfound loving regard
- worshipReligious reverence and praise
fervor · zeal · faithfulness · godliness · devoutness · religious observance · prayer · contemplation · submission · humility
liturgy
Formal worship structure
- ritesFormal ceremonial acts
- sacramentsSacred Christian rites
- ceremonyFormal event marking occasions
procession · fasting · ablution · pilgrimage · vespers · matins · novena · rosary · devotional · observance
righteousness
Moral correctness or virtue
- moral dutyEthical requirement to act
- uprightnessMoral correctness and honesty
- rectitudeMoral straightness
probity · conscience · integrity · moral obligation · obedience · faithfulness · loyalty · honor · decency · propriety
sanctimoniousness
Feigned moral superiority
- cantSanctimonious insincerity
- lip serviceInsincere expression of agreement
- pretenseDeceptive outward show
insincerity · dissembling · posturing · feigning · sham · self-righteousness · holier-than-thou · moralizing · preachiness · affectation
customs
Traditional practices or import taxes
- heritageInherited cultural legacy
- orthodoxyAdherence to accepted beliefs
- conventionsAccepted social practices
dogmas · doctrines · precepts · tenets · sacred duties · ancestral rites · religious customs · folk beliefs · received wisdom
pietiesimpieties
Irreverent acts toward religion
irreverence · impiety · blasphemies · sacrileges · profanities
pietiesdisloyalties
Acts of unfaithfulness
betrayals · treacheries · faithlessness · disrespect · disobedience
pietieshypocrisies
Feigned moral stances
cynicism · insincerity · affectations · pretenses · sanctimony