All 3 Uses of
pious
in
Jacob Have I Loved
- "Whosoever shall say, 'Thou fool,' shall be in danger of hell fire," she quoted piously.
Chpt 12 *piously = in a highly religious or moral manner
- "It is better," I recited piously, "to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house with a contentious woman."
Chpt 18
- He didn't know anything about me or the day I was born or he'd never say such a foolish thing, sitting there so piously at his kitchen table, sounding for all the world like a Methodist preacher.
Chpt 19 *piously = in a self-righteous or holier-than-thou manner
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)
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(3)
(pious as in: cling to the pious hope) (describing a hope or wish as) sincere, but highly unlikely
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(4)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, piety can refer to devotion or faithfulness as Proust used it in the book, Swann's Way:
"...but when, as had befallen me, such an anguish possesses one's soul before Love has yet entered into one's life, then it must drift, awaiting Love's coming, vague and free, without precise attachment, at the disposal of one sentiment to-day, of another to-morrow, of filial piety or affection for a comrade."