Righteous is an adjective that means virtuous, honorable, or morally right.

Being righteous means doing what is right—obeying the law or adhering to morals. It is often used in a religious context.

Example: It’s not easy to engage in righteous behavior—in fact, if an action is difficult to take, it’s probably right!

Records of righteous date back to before the 900s. It descends from the Old English word rihtwīs, which was formed from riht, meaning “right,” and wīs, referring to a manner or way of acting (as seen in words like otherwise and clockwise). Eventually, the word was altered with the adjectival suffix -ous.

Simply put, righteous describes someone who does what is right (especially all the time) according to certain laws or morals. The word can be applied to people or their actions, or to things like laws that are considered morally just. (The right in righteous means “just,” “good,” or “correct,” rather than the opposite of “left.”)

Righteous is used frequently in the context of legal or moral judgments and religious matters. The word is often used in phrases like righteous indignation or righteous anger to describe someone showing strong displeasure about some kind of injustice. The common term self-righteous is applied to people who are overly confident in their morality, especially when they criticize others.

Rightful can sometimes be used in the same way as righteous (meaning “in accordance with what is just”), but rightful is more commonly used to mean “having a valid claim” (as in rightful owner).

Righteous is sometimes used as a slang term meaning “excellent,” but this can sound a bit outdated.

What are some other forms related to righteous?

• righteousness (noun)
• righteously (adverb)
• overrighteous (adjective)
• unrighteous (adjective)
• the righteous (noun)
• self-righteous (adjective)

What are some synonyms for righteous?

• virtuous
• law-abiding
• noble
• upright
• honorable

What are some words that share a root or word element with righteous? 

• right
• rightly
• courteous

What are some words that often get used in discussing righteous?

• law
• morality
• justice
• virtue
• honor
• indignation
• anger

What are some words righteous may be commonly confused with?

• rightful

Righteous is used to describe the moral character of a person or the fairness or justness of laws or rules. Because of this, it most often appears in the context of topics like criminal law, religion, and ethics.

For everyone hoping that “being on the right side of history” is motivating of righteous behavior…history suggests it is NOT

— Jay Kieve (@jkieve) January 25, 2020

It was probably also unpleasant to be around, and I'm sure there are people I wanted to like me who don't because I was obviously being self-righteous and overly pretentious, because Twitter enabled that behavior. So I try really hard to… not do it as much.

— Julie Alexis Muncy (@juliemuncy23) February 25, 2020

At the end of the day it's important to remember that this is fictional literature. It's meant to inspire discussion & debate. BE CIVIL. Have academic rational discussions. Have strong emotions & righteous indignation. But don't let that lead to abusive or disrespectful behavior.

— Adam🌴 aka ChEcKtheCiRcUiT🔌 aka FuriousFievel✡ (@ChecKtheCircuiT) February 24, 2020

Which of the following things is a righteous person most likely to do?

A. cheat on a test
B. return a lost wallet to its owner
C. ignore a traffic light
D. rob a bank