sanctimonious

Mary Higgins Clarkの小説 "Before I Say Good-Bye" を図書館から借りて読み始めました。面白そうな話の予感がします。最初に引用するのは次の箇所です。
Adam enjoyed her "insider" stories about the building world, tales from her earlier days with Walters and Arsdale.
You mean that sanctimonious old bird was on the take when those bids went our?" he'd exclaim, then reassure her when she became flustered about talking so much.
"sanctimonious" は何やら聖人と関係がありそうな単語ですが、賄賂に関係している様な人の話なので辞書で意味を確認します。
・Oxford English Dictionary: Making a show of being morally superior to other people.: What happened to all the sanctimonious talk about putting his family first?
・Collins Dictionary: If you say that someone is sanctimonious, you disapprove of them because you think that they are trying to appear morally better than other people.: He writes smug, sanctimonious rubbish.
なるほど、聖人ぶっているが、実際は良くない人ですね。