Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A member of an ancient Jewish sect that emphasized strict interpretation and observance of the Mosaic law in both its oral and written form.
- noun A hypocritically self-righteous person.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One of an ancient Jewish school, sect, or party which was specially exact in its interpretation and observance of the law, both canonical and traditional.
- noun Any scrupulous or ostentatious observer of the outward forms of religion without regard to its inward spirit: a formalist; hence, a scrupulous observer of external forms of any kind; in general, a hypocrite.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun One of a sect or party among the Jews, noted for a strict and formal observance of rites and ceremonies and of the traditions of the elders, and whose pretensions to superior sanctity led them to separate themselves from the other Jews.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a self-righteous or sanctimonious person
- noun a member of an ancient Jewish sect noted for strict obedience to Jewish traditions
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
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Examples
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Have you ever talk to your priest about it only to get called a pharisee for being such a stickler to liturgical norms?
Latest gadget from The Curt Jester Argent 2006
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#1.31 - Mon Oct 25, 2010 8:54 PM EDT keith O is the biggest "pharisee" in the media, a self righteous mask who judges people judging, a typical critic not quite unique as "false TV stages" portray him.
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Calling Nicodemus an "ανθρωπος εκ των φαρισαιων" (man from the pharisees), rather than just calling him a "pharisee" outright is another way of indicating that Nicodemus was different from most Pharisees.
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I get the feeling from the content of his post and the title of his post that the use of "pharisee" is not complimentary to those who are careful with what they eat.
Hip and Thigh 2008
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He, too, had taken the part of the lowly and oppressed, and against all the established power of priest and pharisee.
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Well, at least Mr. Neal is getting his head from beer unlike some of the holier-than-thou hypocrites of the right-wing and all their good christian pharisee cohorts covering up their dirty deeds at the C-Street house of collusion.
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Beck is the modern day pharisee, a wolf disguised as a friendly.
Jake Diliberto: Glenn Beck Declares War on Our Veterans Jake Diliberto 2010
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Beck is the modern day pharisee, a wolf disguised as a friendly.
Jake Diliberto: Glenn Beck Declares War on Our Veterans Jake Diliberto 2010
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Without the crucification Paul isn't another apocalyptic preacher, he is another pharisee.
More Mythicist-Creationist Parallels: Messiahs, Wisdom and Jesus James F. McGrath 2010
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Beck is the modern day pharisee, a wolf disguised as a friendly.
Jake Diliberto: Glenn Beck Declares War on Our Veterans Jake Diliberto 2010
madmouth commented on the word pharisee
cf. Perushim
September 16, 2009