All 3 Uses of
righteous
in
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings
- They basked in the righteousness of the poor and the exclusiveness of the downtrodden.
p. 131.5righteousness = virtue
- I laid a pallet for Mr. Taylor in Uncle Willie's room and crawled under Momma, who I knew for the first time was so good and righteous she could command the fretful spirits, as Jesus had commanded the sea.
p. 168.9 *righteous = virtuous
- He didn't suffer, as many "honest men" do, from the detestable righteousness that diminishes their virtue.
p. 220.4righteousness = feeling of moral superiority
Definitions:
-
(1)
(righteous as in: a righteous cause) morally correct; or morally justified
or:
acting or feeling morally superior -- especially when it isn't true (this meaning is more typically seen as a compound word beginning with "self-") -
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Less commonly, righteous is used as a synonym for wonderful.