Pharisee

[ far-uh-see ]

noun

1. a member of a Jewish sect that flourished during the 1st century b.c. and 1st century a.d. and that differed from the Sadducees chiefly in its strict observance of religious ceremonies and practices, adherence to oral laws and traditions, and belief in an afterlife and the coming of a Messiah.
2. (lowercase) a sanctimonious, self-righteous, or hypocritical person.

Pharisee

/ ˈfærɪˌsiː /

noun

1. Judaism a member of an ancient Jewish sect that was opposed to the Sadducees, teaching strict observance of Jewish tradition as interpreted rabbinically and believing in life after death and in the coming of the Messiah
2. often not capital a self-righteous or hypocritical person

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pharisee¹

before 900; Middle English Pharise, Farise, Old English Farīsēus < Late Latin Pharīsēus, variant of Pharīsaeus < Greek Pharīsaîos < Aramaic pərīshayyā, plural of pərīshā literally, separated

Word History and Origins

Origin of Pharisee¹

Old English Farīsēus, ultimately from Aramaic perīshāiyā, pl of perīsh separated

Example Sentences

Instead, they’ve become some of the shrillest Pharisees in the right’s culture war, especially against anything that resembles embracing LGBTQ+ folks.

From Los Angeles Times

The rebuke by the Pharisees who saw this elicited Jesus’ rebuttal that he was “Lord even of the Sabbath” in Matthew 12:8.

From Washington Times

“But I don’t want to be the Pharisees of this generation, where I turn it into some kind of rule that there’s never an exception for.”

From New York Times

His words were drowned out by abortion rights supporter Beau Black, who repeatedly screamed: “Hypocrites and Pharisees! Hypocrites and Pharisees!”

From Seattle Times

Much like the Pharisees, today's American evangelicals do not represent the faith in any genuine way.

From Salon

Related Words

• bigot
• charlatan
• crook
• impostor
• phony
• trickster