piety
strong religious devotion and reverence
Strong love and respect for God or a religion, shown in prayer, worship, and good behavior.
[someone]'s piety toward [a god / a religion]
- Her piety was evident in the hours she spent in quiet prayer each day.
- The small village is known for its strong Catholic piety and crowded Sunday services.
- He wears a simple cross as a sign of his piety, not as a fashion statement.
- The ceremony was marked by solemn piety rather than celebration.
- Some critics questioned whether the politician’s public piety matched his private life.
- His piety brings him to church every morning.
- I admire her piety and the calm way she prays.
- The people showed their piety by giving food to the poor.
- The festival is a time of piety and quiet reflection.
- Because of his piety, many people come to him for advice.
dutiful respect toward family or authority
Deep respect and duty toward parents, family, or important leaders that makes you want to care for and obey them.
piety toward [parents / family / tradition]
- In many East Asian cultures, filial piety requires adult children to care for their aging parents.
- He visited his grandfather every week out of a sense of piety and gratitude.
- The festival is an expression of civic piety, honoring the city’s founders.
- Her quiet piety toward family tradition led her to preserve old customs in her own home.
- The story praises the son’s piety more than his success or wealth.
- Filial piety is very important in his culture.
- She shows piety to her parents by helping them every day.
- Out of piety, he did not argue with his father in public.
- Their piety toward family tradition is clear at every holiday.
- He feels piety toward the teacher who helped him as a child.
conventional, often empty moral talk
Words about religion or good behavior that sound correct but are repeated without real feeling or new ideas.
pieties about [topic]
- The article cuts through the usual political pieties and asks who really benefits from the new law.
- He filled his speech with empty pieties about unity and sacrifice but offered no real solutions.
- She is tired of hearing corporate pieties about ‘work–life balance’ while staff are constantly overworked.
- Instead of repeating familiar pieties, the pastor admitted his own doubts.
- The book challenges the comforting pieties that surround the nation’s founding myths.
- The manager spoke in pieties about ‘team spirit’ that nobody believed.
- People are bored by empty pieties about hard work and success.
- He does not want pieties; he wants honest answers.
- The writer attacks old pieties about what a family should be.
- Her speech avoided pieties and felt very real.
- Base: piety
- Plural: pieties, piety
an act of piety
1a single religious or respectful act
A single action that shows religious devotion or deep respect, for example praying, giving money, or visiting a grave.
- Lighting a candle in the church was, for her, an act of piety and remembrance.
- He donated part of his inheritance to charity as an act of piety toward his late father.
- Planting a tree on the anniversary of the disaster became an annual act of piety for the community.
filial piety
1a child's duty and respect to parents
Strong respect and duty that a child, especially an adult child, feels and shows toward their parents.
- In Confucian thought, filial piety is one of the highest virtues.
- He moved back to his hometown out of filial piety, so he could care for his elderly mother.
- Stories in many cultures praise children who show great filial piety.
filial piety
1duty to respect and care
the belief that children must respect and care for their parents.
- The book explains how filial piety shaped family life for centuries.
- In some societies, filial piety is seen as a core virtue.
- They debated whether filial piety should outweigh personal independence.
out of piety
1motivated by devotion or duty
Because of religious devotion or strong respect and duty, not because of other reasons like money or pressure.
- She visits the grave every year out of piety, not out of habit.
- He continued the family ritual mainly out of piety toward his grandparents.
- They restored the old shrine out of piety, even though it brought them no profit.