sanctimonious

/ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/

//ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs// adj

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"sanctimonious" is a 13-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“sanctimonious” has 19 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #48,467. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#48,467
frequency rank, English
6,566
“S” headwords
19
tracked misspellings

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.

Corpus desk

Index EN-sanctimonious · sanctimonious · English

sanctimonious · rank #48,467 · 19 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #48,467
  • LEN-MEGA 13 letters
  • VOW-6 6 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 19 variants
  • BOOK-DENSE 6,566
  • PHOTO-FINISH Sainsbury

Nearest frequency peer: Sainsbury (-1 rank slots)

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.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “sanctimonious”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “sanctimonious” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026
Key facts for sanctimonious
PropertyValue
Headwordsanctimonious
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdjective
IPA/ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/
Letters13
Frequency rank#48,467
Misspellings tracked19
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “sanctimonious”

This scale runs from the tiny cluster of words that carry ordinary speech (left) to the long tail of words almost nobody reaches for (right).sanctimoniouslands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Ticks step logarithmically, so each one marks a roughly tenfold drop in how often the word turns up. Same rarity band neighbours include “Sainsbury” (#48,466), “sardonic” (#48,468), “sacramental” (#48,465). Among 6,566 “S” headwords, “sanctimonious” is #48,467. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 19 spelling variants around sanctimonious (IPA /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/), anadjective. Corpus frequency is #48,467 among 6,566 “S” headwords. Wiktionary lists 2 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 19 likely wrong-spelling variants for sanctimonious, with forms such as "asnctimonious", "sacntimonious", and "sancctimonious". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.

Etymologically, the entry records: From sanctimony + -ous. The correct English form is sanctimonious, spelled S-A-N-C-T-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S.

Definition

  1. 1
    Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.
  2. 2
    Holy, devout.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how sanctimonious appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Near-synonyms: smug; see also Thesaurus:arrogant
  2. Thou conclud'st like the sanctimonious pirate, that went to sea with the Ten Commandements, but scrap'd one out of the table.

Etymology

From sanctimony + -ous.

This word in other languages

santurrón(Español)hypocrite(Français)frömmelnd(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • asnctimonious
  • sacntimonious
  • sancctimonious
  • sancitmonious
  • sanctimmonious
  • sanctimnoious
  • sanctimoinous
  • sanctimoniosu
  • sanctimoniouss
  • sanctimoniuos
  • sanctimonnious
  • sanctimonoius
  • sanctiomnious
  • sanctmionious
  • sancttimonious
  • sannctimonious
  • santcimonious
  • snactimonious
  • ssanctimonious

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of sanctimonious - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

asnctimonious2sacntimonious2sancctimonious1sancitmonious2sanctimmonious1sanctimnoious2sanctimoinous2sanctimoniosu2
Edit distance from "sanctimonious"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "sanctimonious"?
"sanctimonious" is spelled S-A-N-C-T-I-M-O-N-I-O-U-S. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/.
What does "sanctimonious" mean?
As an adjective, "sanctimonious" means: Making a show of being morally better than others, especially hypocritically pious.
What are common misspellings of "sanctimonious"?
Common misspellings include "asnctimonious", "sacntimonious", "sancctimonious", "sancitmonious", "sanctimmonious". The correct spelling is "sanctimonious".
How do you pronounce "sanctimonious"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "sanctimonious" is /ˌsæŋk.tɪˈməʊ.ni.əs/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "sanctimonious"?
From sanctimony + -ous. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "sanctimonious", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 13 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

unappreciated#48,539antipsychotic#48,592chrysanthemum#48,662conflagration#48,671

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (19 here; floor ≥5).

stormtrooper19 variantsmicrofinance19 variantsinterminable19 variantsforgetfulness19 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list