the Pharisees From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishthe Phariseesthe Pharisees[plural]RRJ a group of Jews who lived at the time of Christ and who believed in strictly obeying religious laws → PhariseeExamples from the Corpusthe Pharisees• The practice of fasting had grown up amongst the Pharisees as a sign of their superiority.• Because the Pharisees were the predominant sect, few, Sadducee writings have survived.• At that time there was a dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees as to when the festival should begin.• Some people think of Christians as being like the Pharisees.• This was the main reason the Pharisees hated the tax-collectors: they were in the pay of the Romans.• We tend to think that the Pharisees were unscrupulous, double-dealing, untrustworthy.• We have records of frequent clashes with the Pharisees over the sabbath and other traditional observances. Exercises Exercises Vocabulary exercises help you to learn synonyms, collocations and idioms. Intermediate and Advanced level grammar practice with progress tests. Listening and pronunciation, exam preparation and more! Pictures of the day What are these? Click on the pictures to check. Explore topics Hinduism Clothes & fashion Odours Conditions of employment See all topics Word of the day persuade to make someone decide to do something, especially by giving them reasons why they should do it, or asking them many times to do it