How to Use self-righteous in a Sentence

self-righteous

adjective
  • Who among us hasn’t felt some version of that self-righteous purity?
    — WIRED, 23 Feb. 2023
  • But Democrats want someone who fights back rather than gives self-righteous marathon speeches or just fades away.
    — Steven Greenhut, Oc Register, 22 Aug. 2025
  • In calmer times, a leader expounding from such heights risks sounding preachy and self-righteous.
    — Gal Beckerman, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2026
  • There is nothing worse than a self-righteous Big J journalist.
    — Zach Dean Outkick, FOXNews.com, 29 Apr. 2026
  • Mariko is a more reserved, subtle character who lights up the screen, even without self-righteous tirades.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2024
  • That rain jacket wasn’t made from unicorn ear wax, but the irony seems to have escaped the self-righteous protester.
    — WSJ, 13 July 2023
  • In the novel, the servant Joseph is a self-righteous zealot who’s always banging on about the Bible.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 13 Feb. 2026
  • Through that bogus bromide, not genuine black folklore, class privilege raised its self-righteous head.
    — Armond White, National Review, 8 Mar. 2023
  • Camille’s self-righteous anger, so understandable yet so misguided, has burned through the screen every week.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
  • The stories of the working class are overlooked and traded to create a self-righteous brand of goodness and populism.
    — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2024
  • John is the supremely self-righteous Veronica with Sieber as her more earthy spouse, Michael.
    — David L. Coddon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 13 Mar. 2023
  • For anyone who’s ever been wronged, loves to feel a little self-righteous, or just wants to dance it out, consider this your summer anthem.
    — Vogue, 2 July 2024
  • They are sent off to a grandmother in Ontario who is the epitome of cold, self-righteous Protestant virtue.
    — Margaret Atwood, New Yorker, 6 Apr. 2025
  • Meanwhile, everyone is running around talking about governance in such self-righteous ways, but missing the point.
    — Eli Amdur, Forbes, 20 Sep. 2024
  • If all this sounds a little self-righteous, rest assured Jurden and Soresi don’t spare themselves.
    — Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 30 July 2026
  • However, my doctors tell me to stay away from them, as being around their judgmental and self-righteous attitude could trigger a relapse.
    — Amy Dickinson, Anchorage Daily News, 14 July 2023
  • The film also adopts an unfortunate and unearned self-righteous tone, especially in the credits.
    — Anupama Chopra, HollywoodReporter, 24 Apr. 2025
  • In the early days of the drugs’ rollout, a high price tag and a nationwide shortage made off-label A-list users a target of self-righteous mockery.
    — Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2026
  • Open and humorous in person, he was described by critics – and even some supporters – as stubborn, didactic and self-righteous.
    — Nicole West Bassoff, The Conversation, 14 Nov. 2025
  • The book hinges on a conflict between self-righteous Burghers, who live in cities, and resentful, paranoid rural people known as Yeomen.
    — Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 23 Oct. 2025
  • William is a self-righteous and conspiracy-minded and ruthlessly ambitious man who hides his darker side behind a charming facade.
    — Rick Porter, The Hollywood Reporter, 14 Mar. 2025
  • Their reach and impact collectively are far more effective and balanced than the self-righteous media who chose to self-deport from the Pentagon.
    — Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
  • Her self-righteous smirk, withering glare and wide, mischievous grin captured the emotional extremes of adolescence to an extent that words could never quite express.
    — Judy Berman, TIME, 14 July 2024
  • This admission is met with varying levels of shock and dismay from her three companions, ranging from nervous equivocation from her fiancé to self-righteous anger from Rachel.
    — Megan McCluskey, Time, 3 Apr. 2026
  • The United States might start to see itself as others do—self-righteous, hypocritical, futile—tire of its own platitudes and lies, and consider a change.
    — Hussein Agha, New Yorker, 22 Aug. 2025
  • If Harbaugh is implicated as knowing, then the punishment will worsen dramatically and he will be sent to the social media gallows as a self-righteous fraud.
    — J. Brady McCollough, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2023
  • At a moment when so much comedy leans on self-righteous preaching or performative offensiveness, Carmichael’s candor is refreshing.
    — Judy Berman, TIME, 30 May 2024
  • Teddy descends into cruel, self-righteous paranoia, quickly alienating his family — to say nothing of the Maine electorate — in a bid to regain control of his campaign and life.
    — Joumana Khatib, New York Times, 10 Jan. 2025
  • The Bartlet staff’s righteous (and self-righteous) elocution might seem — to the cynical — sentimental, treacly, smarmy, or just eye-roll-inducingly dumb.
    — Lizzie Logan, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2024
  • Her character is annoyingly self-righteous, but also very attractive and seemingly interested in David.
    — Esther Zuckerman, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'self-righteous.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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