1. A reference to the group that promoted the observance of Jewish rites, to study the Laws and to remove paganism from the land: The Pharisaical followers refused to compromise in any way with their religious beliefs and as a result they suffered torture and martyrdom by non-Jewish conquerors rather than desecrate the sabbath or violate other Jewish observances.
2. Relating to being self-righteously obsessed with religious rules and acting with hypocrisy with regard to the strict adherence to those standards and formalities: While the Pharisees, as a group, set high expectations for themselves, not all of the Pharisaical members lived up to those practices.

In modern times, there are pharisaical followers who appear to be following the religious teachings of their organizations, but are deceivers who are actually making false claims and practicing more immoral lives than the teachings which they profess to be adhering to.

2. Etymology: from ecclesiastical Latin pharisaicus which came from Greek pharisalos, "those who are separate".