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saintly

[ seynt-lee ]

/ ˈseɪnt li /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR saintly ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, saint·li·er, saint·li·est.

pertaining to, like, or befitting a saint: saintly lives.

Origin of saintly

First recorded in 1650–60; saint + -ly

OTHER WORDS FROM saintly

saint·li·ness, noun hy·per·saint·ly, adjective qua·si-saint·ly, adjective su·per·saint·ly, adjective

un·saint·ly, adjective

Words nearby saintly

sainte foy, sainte-beuve, sainted, saintfoin, sainthood, saintly, saintpaulia, saintsbury, saintship, saionji, saipan

Example sentences from the Web for saintly

Sometimes, that intense social judgment, that expectation of saintly loving maternal perfection, can destroy a mother.

Postpartum Stigma: Why My Patient Committed Suicide |Jean Kim |August 5, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Fleiss makes the film as a devotee would, depicting Weir in a saintly glow.

Bob Weir on Drugged-Out Deadheads and Living in Jerry Garcia’s Shadow |Emily Shire |April 25, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Top U.S. officials contribute with their daily evocation of saintly principles that the United States itself has often defied.

Cut the Baloney on Ukraine |Leslie H. Gelb |March 9, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Diana came to see her as a sweet, saintly woman whose charity work was an inspiration.

Malice in the Palace: Prince George’s Treacherous New Digs |Tina Brown |July 27, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

Reasons for my Gingrich blues No lunar dreams or Grecian cruise No credit line from Tiffany's No saintly wife, his former squeeze.

The Song of Newt Gingrich: From Longshot To Hotshot To No Shot | |April 26, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
She received the Controller as she might have received a saintly miracle-worker, who had come to remove her goitre.

The Patriot |Antonio Fogazzaro
It was my happiness, when I was ordained, to be settled next neighbour to an aged and saintly minister.

The Preacher and His Models |James Stalker
When her saintly heart beat its last, it was my hands laid her there, by the side of your father.

Hildebrand |Anonymous
It was when my saintly mother was passing into the spiritland, and, without fear or trepidation, lay calmly awaiting her call.

Betty Grier |Joseph Waugh
Open here I flung the shutter, when, with many a flirt and flutter, In there stepp'd a stately Raven of the saintly days of yore.

The Ontario Readers: The High School Reader, 1886 |Ministry of Education

British Dictionary definitions for saintly

saintly

/ (ˈseɪntlɪ) /

adjective -lier or -liest

like, relating to, or suitable for a saint

Derived forms of saintly

saintlily, adverb saintliness, noun