英文字典中文字典Word104.com

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

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]