1.
[syn: impiety, impiousness]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Impious \Im"pi*ous\, a. [L. impius; pref. im- not + pius piou.
See Pious.]
Not pious; wanting piety; irreligious; irreverent; ungodly;
profane; wanting in reverence for the Supreme Being; as, an
impious deed; impious language.
[1913 Webster]
When vice prevails, and impious men bear away,
The post of honor is a private station. --Addison.
Syn: Impious, Irreligious, Profane.
Usage: Irreligious is negative, impious and profane are
positive. An indifferent man may be irreligious; a
profane man is irreverent in speech and conduct; an
impious man is wickedly and boldly defiant in the
strongest sense. Profane also has the milder sense of
secular. --C. J. Smith. -- Im"pi*ous*ly, adv. --
Im"pi*ous*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
impiousness
n 1: unrighteousness by virtue of lacking respect for a god
[syn: impiety, impiousness] [ant: piety, piousness]