pious
/ˈpaɪəs/adjective
pious is spelled P-I-O-U-S: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, pious means “Of or pertaining to piety, exhibiting piety, devout, god-fearing” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in pious?
| Letters | 5: P-I-O-U-S |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.0 times per million words; the 19,336th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is pious?
Pious appears 2.0 times per million words in written English, the 19,336th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce pious?
- UK /ˈpaɪəs/
Pious has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-pious.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of pious
- more pious comparative
- most pious superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does pious mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of or pertaining to piety, exhibiting piety, devout, god-fearing.
- 2
Relating to religion or religious works.
A pious cause.
- 3
Insisting on or making a show of one's own virtue, especially in comparison to others; sanctimonious, condescending, judgmental.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Pious in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pieux |
| German | fromm, pietätvoll , scheinheilig |
| Portuguese | pio |
| Spanish | piadoso, beato, pío |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does pious come from?
Borrowed from Latin pīus (“pious, dutiful, blessed, kind, devout”), from Proto-Indo-European *pewH- (“pure”). Cognate with Old English fǣle (“faithful, trusty, good; dear, beloved”). More at feal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).