From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishpiouspi‧ous /ˈpaɪəs/ adjective 1 RRhaving strong religious beliefs, and showing this in the way you behave → piety He was a quiet, pious man.2 PRETENDif you describe what someone says as pious talk, words etc, you mean that they are trying to sound good or moral but you do not believe that they are sincere or will really do what they say pious speeches by politicians about ‘family values’3 → pious hope/wish —piously adverb
Examples from the Corpus
pious• They had to give in to so pious a purpose, and they agreed to wait until the work was finished.• Charles's parents were pious and uneducated folk.• But, today, she gave almost pious attention to every scrape of the slate pencil.• It is recorded that he spent his income on the needy and for pious endeavors.• The international community has so far salved its conscience by voicing a succession of pious hopes.• There are 613 commandments required of a pious Jew.• Donations by pious laymen doubtless continued, and Glastonbury and Canterbury not only survived, but did so as wealthy churches.• Ethelred was not the most pious of kings, and his clashes with the church were stormy and frequent.• Galileo had written a pious preface in which he ridiculed the Copernican theory as wild and fantastic and contrary to Holy Scripture.• But Democrats applauded, generally taking the pious view that the White House can never be above the law.• She reminded Corbett of a sweet, pious young nun he once knew.Origin pious (1400-1500) Latin pius 