righteous

Meaning

Adj

1. Free from sin or guilt.
2. Moral and virtuous, perhaps to the point of sanctimony.
3. Justified morally.
4. (US, slang) Awesome; great.
5. (US, slang) Major; large; significant.

Verb

To make righteous; specifically, to justify religiously, to absolve from sin.

Synonyms

just

virtuous

fair

honest

right

pious

correct

upright

true

moral

straight

proper

truthful

accurate

principled

honorable

good

👍

perfect

ethical

convincing

believable

credible

dependable

godly

innocent

😇

kosher

reliable

responsible

secure

sensible

trustworthy

trusty

unfailing

trustable

fair-minded

saintly

noble

straightforward

⬆️

high-class

pure

holy

equitable

decent

exact

neat

noble-minded

orderly

orthodox

dharma

devout

Translations

juste

rechtvaardig

justo

giusto

rechtschaffen

fair

gerecht

justo

retto

dabbene

sûr

droit

billijk

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ˈɹaɪt͡ʃəs/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: rightwise

Inherited from Old English: rihtwīs

Cognate with Scots: richtwis

Cognate with Old High German: rehtwīsic

Cognate with Icelandic: réttvíss

In summary

From earlier rightuous, rightwose, rightwos, rightwise, from Middle English rightwise, rightwis, from Old English rihtwīs (“righteous, just”), 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.