holier-than-thou
/ˈhəʊ.li.ə ðən ˈðaʊ/
"holier-than-thou" is a 14-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“holier-than-thou” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adjective. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 16
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior.
Corpus desk
Index EN-holier-than-thou · holier-than-thou · English
holier-than-thou · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-MEGA 16 letters
- VOW-6 6 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "H" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | holier-than-thou |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Adjective |
| IPA | /ˈhəʊ.li.ə ðən ˈðaʊ/ |
| Letters | 16 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “holier-than-thou” in English
Rare enough to double-check
holier-than-thou is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as anadjective, transcribed /ˈhəʊ.li.ə ðən ˈðaʊ/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior.".
holier-than-thou doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, suggesting the orthography follows predictable English patterns. Our dataset records no confusable match here, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Isaiah 65:5 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou”; from Biblical Hebrew קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ (qəḏaštîḵā). The correct English form is holier-than-thou, spelled H-O-L-I-E-R---T-H-A-N---T-H-O-U.
Definition
- 1Hypocritically or self-righteously pious; sanctimonious; smugly morally superior.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how holier-than-thou appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
[T]here are local jealousies and disunities which are not likely to be soothed by the patent fact that companies which most strenuously assert the I-am-holier-than-thou claim daily violate the rules by which they profess to be invariably governed, [...]
Hippolytus is quite insufferable in his endless protestations of pity and purity. One tires of such abnormal goodness and wishes for a little natural depravity. He is a perfect type of the "holier than thou" individual whose secret heart is a very stagnation of egotism, selfishness and disregard for others' feelings.
Etymology
From Isaiah 65:5 in the Bible (King James Version; spelling modernized): “Stand by thyself, come not near to me; for I am holier than thou”; from Biblical Hebrew קְדַשְׁתִּיךָ (qəḏaštîḵā).
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.