Members of an ancient Jewish religious group known for strict interpretation of laws, or modern people who act morally superior while being hypocritical.
From Aramaic 'perisha' meaning 'separated ones.' The Pharisees were a Jewish sect (roughly 100 BCE-70 CE) who separated themselves through strict observance of religious law.
Jesus criticized the Pharisees so harshly in the Bible that 'pharisee' became a permanent insult for hypocrites—this single Biblical argument changed a whole word's meaning forever in Western languages!
Historical religious group predominantly male in public leadership roles; pejorative modern usage ('pharisee') became coded masculine when describing male hypocrisy or self-righteousness, though the term itself applies across gender.
When used descriptively of historical Pharisees, specify role/context. When used pejoratively, apply equally to all genders; avoid default masculine assumptions.
["hypocrite","self-righteous person","legalist"]
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.