All 5 Uses of
pious
in
Babbitt
- As he relaxed, he was pierced by the familiar and irritating rattle of some one cranking a Ford: ... Himself a pious motorist, Babbitt cranked with the unseen driver, with him waited through taut hours for the roar of the starting engine,
Chpt 1 (definition 1)pious = earnest in an attempt to do things correctly
- [after talking about dieting] She stooped over her story while he piously sliced and gulped down the apple, discoursing: "One thing I've done: cut down my smoking."
Chpt 7 (definition 1) *piously = in a highly moral manner (doing what is thought to be the right thing)
- He condemned magnificently and forgave piously,
Chpt 10 (definition 2)piously = in a self-righteous or holier-than-thou manner
- …the ideal of American manhood and culture isn't a lot of cranks sitting around chewing the rag about their Rights and their Wrongs, but a God-fearing, hustling, successful, two-fisted Regular Guy, who belongs to some church with pep and piety to it, who belongs to…
Chpt 14 (definition 1)piety = highly religious and moral behavior
- And crooked—Say, if I told the prosecuting attorney what I know about this last Street Traction option steal, both you and me would go to jail, along with some nice, clean, pious, high-up traction guns!
Chpt 19 (definition 2) *pious = self-righteous (acting as though one is highly moral when it is not true)
Definitions:
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(1) (pious as in: a good, pious woman) religious or highly moral
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(2) (pious as in: a pious hypocrite) self-righteous (acting as though one is, or believing one is highly moral when it is not true)