as in moralizing
marked by or given to preaching moral values
the students rolled their eyes as their principal launched into another preachy lecture about behavior at the prom
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Recent Examples of preachy
This 19th century courtroom drama is definitely preachy, and nobody knows what Spielberg was thinking casting Matthew McConaughey as a lawyer defending a group of African slaves fighting for their freedom.
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Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
While the premise could result in an overly dour or preachy book, Nguyen's novel zips forward with page-turning suspense, humor, and nuance.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 6 June 2025
There’s nothing preachy or self-righteous about Frank’s writing.
—Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Image In these poems reaching back before exile, Milosz seems preachier and more self-conscious than in later work — the special pleading is not special, despite the reader’s indulgent sympathies.
—William Logan, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preachy
Tim Grierson, Vulture, 20 June 2025
While the premise could result in an overly dour or preachy book, Nguyen's novel zips forward with page-turning suspense, humor, and nuance.
—Andrew R. Chow, Time, 6 June 2025
There’s nothing preachy or self-righteous about Frank’s writing.
—Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
Image In these poems reaching back before exile, Milosz seems preachier and more self-conscious than in later work — the special pleading is not special, despite the reader’s indulgent sympathies.
—William Logan, New York Times, 11 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for preachy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for preachy
Adjective
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But Europeans cannot simply revert to a moralistic tendency to tell others what to do.—
Josep Borrell Fontelles,
Foreign Affairs,
27 June 2025
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The same moralistic spirit that once defined Minnesota’s politics now fuels passionate polarization.—
David Schultz,
New York Daily News,
17 June 2025
Adjective
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At the level of craft, writers and executive producers Fellowes and Sonja Warfield didn’t feel the need to get didactic in the script.—
Rebecca Alter,
Vulture,
14 July 2025
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My intention as a filmmaker wasn’t to present these issues in a didactic or graphic way, but to reflect the emotional undercurrents, the silences, the strategies of survival and the subtle forms of resistance.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
10 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Preachy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/preachy. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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