Pious describes someone who is deeply devoted to their religious faith and shows it through their actions and attitudes. A pious person takes their religious beliefs seriously, prays regularly, follows their faith's teachings carefully, and tries to live according to its values.

You might encounter this word when reading about historical figures who spent hours in prayer each day, or about someone in your community who never misses their weekly religious services. A pious monk might dedicate his entire life to studying sacred texts and serving others. A pious family might say grace before every meal and celebrate all their religion's holidays with sincere reverence.

When someone is truly pious, their faith shapes how they treat others, make decisions, and spend their time.

However, pious can sometimes carry a critical edge. When someone acts overly righteous or uses religion to judge others harshly, people might say they're being “holier than thou” or describe their behavior as showing false piety. The difference lies in sincerity: genuine piety comes from honest devotion, while false piety is more about appearing religious than actually living according to faith's deeper values of compassion and humility.