Meanings
comparative saintlier · superlative saintliest
- Like or characteristic of a saint; befitting a holy person; saintlike.
Sophie led a saintly life.
2 more examples
Since my sother is nothing short of saintly, she fetches me daily from work and transports me here and there.
1983 August 6, Nancy Walker, “Odyssey of a Unicorn”, in Gay Community News, page 17She met more than a quarter of all the American presidents who have ever lived, five popes, hundreds of national leaders, from the saintly, such as Nelson Mandela, to the tyrannical, including Robert Mugabe and Nicolae Ceausescu[…]
2022 September 8, Stephen Bates, “Queen Elizabeth II obituary”, in The Guardian
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveLike or characteristic of a saint; befitting a holy person; saintlike.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivemarked by utter benignity; resembling or befitting an angel or saint
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Middle English*saintli
- Englishsaintly
From Middle English *saintli (suggested by seyntly (adverb)), equivalent to saint + -ly. Compare saintlike.
More words from Middle English
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
saintly. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saintly
“saintly.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saintly. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “saintly,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/saintly.
Source: saintly on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.