righteousness

righteousness — noun

1. the quality of living and acting according to what is morally right, often based

1.nounB2
Definition

the quality of living and acting according to what is morally right, often based on a religious or personal belief system

Example

The community admired Ziad's righteousness in returning the lost wallet with all its money.

collocation: righteousness in [doing sth]

Many religious traditions teach followers to walk the path of righteousness.

collocation: path of righteousness

Common collocations
  • sense of righteousness
  • path of righteousness
  • righteousness in + doing
  • righteousness of + action
  • claim righteousness
Synonyms
  • virtue

    broader term for any morally good quality; less tied to religious contexts

  • morality

    refers more to a system or code of right behaviour than the quality itself

  • integrity

    emphasises honesty and strong principles, less about religious belief

  • uprightness

    very close in meaning but slightly less common and more formal

Antonyms
  • wickedness

    moral evil or badness

  • sinfulness

    specifically religious: the state of being sinful

  • dishonesty

    lack of truthfulness; a narrower opposite focusing on truth/deceit

Grammar Patterns

righteousness + in + doing something

sense of righteousness

path of righteousness

Usage Note

Frequently used in religious, spiritual, or moral-ethical contexts. The phrase 'self-righteousness' (a separate noun) carries a negative connotation — it describes an exaggerated belief in one's own moral superiority.

Common Mistakes

He is a man of high righteousness.
He is a righteous man.
'righteousness' is uncountable and sounds odd with 'high'; the adjective form is more natural in everyday description.
She showed great righteous.
She showed great righteousness.
'righteous' is an adjective only; the noun form requires the '-ness' suffix.

Word family

  • righteous
    adjectiveB1
  • righteously
    adverbB2
  • self-righteous
    adjectiveC1
  • self-righteousness
    nounC1
  • unrighteous
    adjectiveC2
  • unrighteousness
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe morally positive qualities, but they differ in scope and context. 'Righteousness' is the strongest term, carrying a religious or absolute-moral weight — it suggests a life lived in conformity with divine or deeply held moral law. 'Virtue' is broader and more general: any good quality (honesty, kindness, patience) counts as a virtue, while righteousness is the whole package of moral living. 'Morality' is more abstract — it names the system or code of right and wrong, not the personal quality of following it. 'Integrity' overlaps with righteousness in its emphasis on consistency, but is less about religious belief and more about honesty and sticking to one's principles even when no one is watching. 'Uprightness' is the closest synonym — it means the same as moral correctness but is less emotionally charged and less common in modern speech. For example, you might praise a politician's integrity but call a prophet's life one of righteousness.

virtue ↗morality ↗integrity ↗uprightness

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • walk in righteousness
  • live in righteousness
  • a heart of righteousness

Prepositions

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

Righteousness comes from Old English 'rihtwīsnes', a compound of 'riht' (right, correct, just) and 'wīs' (wise, manner, way) plus the noun suffix '-nes' (-ness). The original sense was 'rightness, justice, correctness'. In Middle English the spelling shifted to 'rightwisenesse', and later, by association with words ending in '-eous' (like 'bounteous', 'piteous'), the form 'righteousness' emerged. The word has carried both a general moral meaning and a specifically religious meaning (conformity to God's will) since Old English times.