Definition of "pharisaic" []

• Of, relating to, or characteristic of the Pharisees. (adjective)
• Hypocritically self-righteous and condemnatory. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "Instead of obsessing over biblical tradition and ritualistic purity, he identified radical ethical ideals, he invited everyone to join his social cause, and he condemned pharisaic self-righteousness."
• "The Son of Anak, otherwise Rufus the Blue-Eyed, and also plebeianly known as Tots, rioted with him from brier-rose path to farthest orchard, scalped him in the haymow with barbaric yells, and once, with pharisaic zeal, was near to crucifying him under the attic roof beams."
• "They consider Nepal as a transit hub of ethno-pharisaic terrorist and regressive elements who want their disintegration, and has nabbed the peace and prosperity of their nations."