righteous

English

Alternative forms

• rightuous, rightwise (obsolete)

Etymology

From earlier rightuous, rightwose, rightwos, rightwise, from Middle English rightwise, rightwis, from Old English rihtwīs (“righteous, just, right, justifiable”), corresponding to right +‎ -wise (with assimilation of second element to -ous), or to right +‎ wise (“way, manner”). Cognate with Scots richtwis (“righteous”), Old High German rehtwīsic (“righteous, just”), Icelandic réttvíss (“righteous, just”). Compare also thefteous, mighteous.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɹaɪtʃəs/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪtʃəs

Adjective

righteous (comparative more righteous, superlative most righteous)

1. Free from sin or guilt.
2. Moral and virtuous, to the point of sanctimonious.

   Human beings should take a righteous path, and so should art. We should promote kindness and beauty through art.

3. Justified morally.

   righteous rage

4. (slang, US) Awesome; great.
   • 2008, Stephen King, Graduation Afternoon

     Tonight the kids will go out and party down in a more righteous mode. Alcohol and not a few tabs of X will be ingested. Club music will throb through big speakers.

Derived terms

• overrighteous
• righteous among the nations
• righteously
• righteousness
• self-righteous
• unrighteous
• uprighteous

 

Translations

free from sin or guilt

• Czech: nevinný m, ctnostný m
• Finnish: synnitön (fi)
• German: rechtschaffen (de)
• Greek:

  Ancient: δίκαιος (díkaios)

• Maori: tapatahi
• Middle Persian: ahlaw

• Persian: درستکار‎ (fa) (dorostkâr)
• Portuguese: inocente (pt)
• Russian: доброде́тельный (dobrodételʹnyj), пра́ведный (ru) (právednyj)
• Sorbian:

  Lower Sorbian: chytšy

• Spanish: inmaculado, inocente (es)
• Swedish: rättskaffens (sv), rättfärdig (sv)

moral and virtuous, to the point of sanctimonious

• Czech: počestný m
• Finnish: oikeamielinen, vanhurskas (fi)
• Maori: tapatahi

• Portuguese: digno (pt)
• Russian: благочести́вый (ru) (blagočestívyj), доброде́тельный (dobrodételʹnyj), пра́ведный (ru) (právednyj)
• Spanish: inmaculado, santo (es), beato (es)

justified morally

• Czech: spravedlivý (cs)
• Finnish: oikeutettu (fi)
• German: gerecht (de)

• Portuguese: justo (pt)
• Russian: справедли́вый (ru) (spravedlívyj), опра́вданный (ru) (oprávdannyj)
• Spanish: correcto (es), bienhechor (es), justo (es)

Verb

righteous (third-person singular simple present righteouses, present participle righteousing, simple past and past participle righteoused)

1. To make righteous; specifically, to justify religiously, to absolve from sin.
   • 2009, Diarmaid MacCulloch, A History of Christianity, Penguin 2010, p. 101:

     Thus for the purposes of being ‘righteoused’, the Law was irrelevant; yet Paul could not bear to see all the Law disappear.