Make Your Point > Archived Issues > PHARISAIC

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connect today's word to others: Oh, snap: Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness.  The Pharisees seem a tad unpopular here, in this quote from the Bible (Matthew 23:27). Their apparent hypocrisy led to our insulting adjectives pharisaic and pharisaical, words for people who act smug, preachy, self-satisfied, and holier-than-thou--people who talk the talk but don't walk the walk. A synonym of pharisaic is sanc______ous: "pretending to be holy or pious." And, another insulting adjective that also assigns a character flaw to an entire group of people is B___tian: "dumb and uncultured, supposedly like the residents of a certain district in ancient Greece." Careful with these sharp words, folks. They're weapons. (To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.) make your point with... "PHARISAIC" Someone or something pharisaic is moral, upright, or religious in a fake, showy way. Pronunciation: FAIR uh SAY ick Part of speech: Adjective: "their pharisaic attitude," "this pharisaic pretense." Other forms: An alternate adjective is "pharisaical" (FAIR uh SAY ick ull), and it's just about as common as "pharisaic." I'd say, when you need extra emphasis, pick "pharisaical." The other, rarer alternate adjectives are "Pharisee-like" (FAIR uh see LIKE) and "Pharisaean" (FAIR uh SEE un) (also spelled "Pharisean"). The adverb is "pharisaically." And the noun--that is, the quality of being pharisaic--is "pharisaism" (FAIR uh say iz um), or "phariseeism" (FAIR uh see iz um), or "Pharisaicalness" (FAIR uh SAY ick ull ness). Take your pick! Notice how I capitalized most of those terms? The less commonly used forms have tended to keep their capital Ps. How to use it: Some people still capitalize "pharisaic," but you don't have to: although it's based on a proper noun, "Pharisee," it's become a regular old adjective.  This word is formal and quite insulting, so be careful with it as you talk about pharisaic people, pharisaic attitudes and reputations, pharisaic pride and respectability, pharisaic righteousness and ostentation, pharisaic vices and scandals, pharisaic comments and judgments and accusations, etc. examples: When I mention how I work on Sundays, he feigns a pharisaic shock: "Surely not on the Lord's day?" "The many who preached liberty or the true religion posed as humanitarians, pharisaically comparing themselves with the best characters of Greece and Rome."    — John Calvin Reed, The Brothers' War, 1905 "He was, and is yet most likely, the wearisomest self-righteous Pharisee that ever ransacked a Bible to rake the promises to himself and fling the curses to his neighbours."    — Emily Brontë, Wuthering Heights, 1847 study it: Explain the meaning of "pharisaic" without saying "hypocritical" or "holier-than-thou." try it out: Fill in the blanks: "To blindly adhere to pharisaic commandments--thou shalt _____, thou shalt _____--is to miss the point and fail to _____." Example: "To blindly adhere to pharisaic commandments--thou shalt not use contractions, thou shalt not use 'I' or 'you'--is to miss the point and fail to create a readable paper." before you review, play: Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first. Our game this month is "Inspired by, but in no way associated with, Jeopardy!" In each issue, I'll create three "answers" for you, and you supply the "questions." (That is, you'll respond in the form of a question, like "What is...?" or "Who is...?") From the previous issue: 1. Category: Anagrammed Appetizers. Answer: Stuffed and baked, and here's their fun guise: Oms humors. Question: What are mushrooms? 2. Category: Stoned Bands. Answer: Known affectionately as STP, this American band grew out of the grunge movement to release several albums, including Shangri-La Dee Da. Question: Who are the Stone Temple Pilots? 3. Category: Spicy Spelling. Answer: This is how you spell the pungent powder made from the seeds of South American species of Capsicum—not phonetically, as "ky yen." Question: What is C-A-Y-E-N-N-E? Try these today: 1. Category: Stoned Bands. Answer: This band formed in Iowa in 1992, crooning lyrics like "stones to throw at my creator" that might leave a bad taste in your mouth. 2. Category: Spicy Spelling. Answer: This is how you spell the strongly-flavored smoked ripe jalapeño pepper often used in Mexican dishes—not phonetically, as "chih POTE lay." 3. Category: Hear-Saying. Answer: To listen with this much of an ear is to pay only partial attention.  review today's word: 1. One opposite of PHARISAIC is A. UNALTERED. B. UNAFFECTED. C. UNENAMOURED. 2. Providing a gentle remonstrance against stereotyping, Alan Unterman wrote: "Though Pharisaism is depicted negatively in the New Testament, the Pharisees themselves were highly critical of _____ among their own members." A. greed B. violence C. hypocrisy Answers are below. a final word: Make Your Point is crafted with love and brought to you each weekday morning by Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. From Liesl's blog:    36 ways to study words.    Why we forget words, & how to remember them.    How to use sophisticated words without being awkward. To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com. Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes. Answers to review questions: 1. B (Did this one confuse you? "Unaffected" can mean "not influenced," but it can also mean "not faked." Learn more here, in the issue for "affectation.") 2. C