righteous
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
behaving in a way that is morally right and good.
acting in accord with divine or moral law; free from guilt or sin.
Simple“He lived a righteous life and was always helping people in his community.”
In context“The community regarded him as a righteous man, noting his unwavering commitment to ethical business practices and charitable works.”
- 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
feeling that an action or emotion is fair and correct.
arising from an outraged sense of justice or morality; morally justifiable.
Simple“She felt a sense of righteous anger when she saw the unfair treatment of the workers.”
In context“The protesters were fueled by righteous indignation, believing that the new legislation was a direct assault on their fundamental civil liberties.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
very good or impressive.
excellent, impressive, or genuine in quality.
Simple“That was a righteous meal; I have never tasted better pizza.”
In context“The surfer caught a righteous wave that carried him all the way to the shore, much to the delight of the onlookers.”
UsageCommonly used in 1960s and 70s counter-culture, though it persists in specific subcultures like surfing.
Teacher's tipThis slang sense is quite dated and specific to American English; learners should use it only in very informal, retro contexts.
“Kennedy’s two documentaries gather their participants’ righteous rage steadily enough to burn off the cloud cover of this corporate obfuscation, leaving a clear view of the horizon ahead.”
“Impolite, zealous, angry, and righteous voices like those of Astell and Macaulay were threatening precisely because they disrupted concord.”
From earlier rightuous, rightwose, rightwos, rightwise, from Middle English rightwise, rightwis, from Old English rihtwīs (“righteous, just”), corresponding to right + -wise (with assimilation of second element to -ous), or to right + wise (“way, manner”). Cognate with Scots richtwis (“righteous”), Old High German rehtwīsic (“righteous, just”), Icelandic réttvíss (“righteous, just”). Compare also thefteous, mighteous.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.