righteous

/ˈraɪtʃəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈraɪtʃəs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈrī-chəs/ (ame, mw) · /ˈraɪ.tʃəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈraɪ.tʃəs/ (ame, ipa)

righteous — adjective

  • righteouspositive
  • more righteouscomparative
  • most righteoussuperlative

1. behaving in a way that follows strong moral or religious principles about what i

1.形容詞B2
釋義

behaving in a way that follows strong moral or religious principles about what is good and right, especially by treating people fairly and refusing to do wrong things.

例句

Haruto is known as a righteous judge who always puts fairness above personal gain.

righteous + noun for a person with strong morals

Wei refused to lie about the mistake because his righteous beliefs would not allow it.

同義詞
  • virtuous

    more formal and general; focuses on having high moral character rather than following specific principles

  • upright

    emphasises honesty and strong moral integrity in everyday behaviour

  • ethical

    more about following professional or social rules of conduct than personal moral conviction

反義詞
  • wicked

    opposite in moral quality; describes someone who is deliberately evil or cruel

  • immoral

    general opposite; describes actions or people that break moral rules

文法句型

righteous + noun (person, cause, life, act)

常見錯誤

❌He is a very righteous person, always telling others they are wrong.
✅He acts like a self-righteous person, always telling others they are wrong.
💡'righteous' describes genuine moral goodness; 'self-righteous' describes a show of superiority that annoys others.

2. showing in your words or behaviour that you think you are morally better than ot

2.形容詞C1
釋義

showing in your words or behaviour that you think you are morally better than other people, usually in a way that annoys or offends them.

例句

Esteban's righteous tone during the meeting made everyone feel judged and uncomfortable.

negative connotation: righteous tone / righteous attitude

Sophia rolled her eyes at her aunt's righteous comments about young people's fashion choices.

同義詞
  • self-righteous

    more direct and common synonym for this negative sense

  • sanctimonious

    more formal and strongly negative; suggests false or exaggerated piety

  • holier-than-thou

    informal and colloquial; emphasises the attitude of being morally above others

反義詞
  • humble

    opposite attitude — not thinking oneself better than others

  • modest

    describes someone who does not boast about their own goodness

文法句型

righteous + noun (tone, attitude, comment)

用法筆記

This sense carries a strong negative meaning — it criticises someone for acting morally superior. Do not use it as a compliment. For the neutral or positive meaning of following moral principles, use sense 1 (MORALLY CORRECT) instead. The word 'self-righteous' is a more direct and common alternative.

常見錯誤

❌My grandmother is a very righteous woman who gives to charity.' (when you mean morally good)
✅My grandmother is a very righteous woman who gives to charity.
💡This is correct IF you mean genuine moral goodness. But ❌ 'My grandmother is a righteous woman who always criticises my clothes.' ✅ 'My grandmother is a self-righteous woman who always criticises my clothes.' — When the behaviour is annoying or shows superiority, use 'self-righteous' to avoid confusion.

3. felt or expressed because of a strong and sincere belief that something is moral

3.形容詞C1
釋義

felt or expressed because of a strong and sincere belief that something is morally wrong or unfair — used mainly with words that describe anger or a sense of injustice.

例句

When the factory dumped waste into the river, the community responded with righteous anger.

collocation: righteous anger / righteous indignation / righteous fury

The newspaper article was full of righteous fury about the government's school funding cuts.

同義詞
  • justified

    broader in meaning; can describe any reasonable reaction or action, not just moral outrage

  • justifiable

    focuses on whether the emotion is reasonable, rather than the emotion itself

文法句型

righteous + emotion noun (anger, indignation, fury, outrage)

用法筆記

Almost exclusively used with nouns expressing strong negative emotions triggered by injustice: 'anger,' 'indignation,' 'fury,' and 'outrage.' Do not use it with positive emotions such as 'happiness' or 'joy' — combinations like 'righteous joy' are not natural English.

常見錯誤

❌She felt righteous happiness when her team won the match.
✅She felt righteous indignation when the referee made a bad call against her team.
💡'righteous' before an emotion noun is only used for anger at injustice, not for positive feelings.

righteous — noun