\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.
      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.