1
as in homiletical
marked by or given to preaching moral values
a sententious crank who has written countless letters to the editor about the decline in family values
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in concise
marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning
memoirs that are filled with sententious observations on love, marriage, and happiness
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sententious
This is a bracing, even novel, perspective on a war whose film depictions so often traffic in sententious Greatest Generation platitudes.
—
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Only the vivid image of the warped planks keeps this remark from being the type of sententious counsel that Polonius might have given his son.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
Without the wit inherent in an epigram, a sententious formulation becomes a mere adage, aphorism, apothegm, gnome, maxim, or saw.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Instead each event—from lethal accidents to vicious murders to Category 5 hurricanes—is immediately sorted into its prelabeled moral narrative file, each one full of similarly useful sententious parables.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 30 May 2022
Dialogue is rendered in the pseudo-profound pronouncements that have become the sententious lingua franca of the hero’s quest.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2022
This melodramatic narrative fits right into American indie filmmaker Kelly Reichardt’s domain, but Francis Lee is a less sententious proselytizer for gay life.
—Armond White, National Review, 13 Nov. 2020
These are the sententious keynote presentations, used to dazzle investors or recruit employees, that try to get a startup to seem like a holy mission.
—Wired, 22 Oct. 2019
What’s more, Charles’s sententious interpretation of noblesse oblige leaves him open to the charge of overstepping the constitutional boundaries of his position.
—Zoë Heller, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2017
Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Only the vivid image of the warped planks keeps this remark from being the type of sententious counsel that Polonius might have given his son.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
Without the wit inherent in an epigram, a sententious formulation becomes a mere adage, aphorism, apothegm, gnome, maxim, or saw.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Instead each event—from lethal accidents to vicious murders to Category 5 hurricanes—is immediately sorted into its prelabeled moral narrative file, each one full of similarly useful sententious parables.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 30 May 2022
Dialogue is rendered in the pseudo-profound pronouncements that have become the sententious lingua franca of the hero’s quest.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2022
This melodramatic narrative fits right into American indie filmmaker Kelly Reichardt’s domain, but Francis Lee is a less sententious proselytizer for gay life.
—Armond White, National Review, 13 Nov. 2020
These are the sententious keynote presentations, used to dazzle investors or recruit employees, that try to get a startup to seem like a holy mission.
—Wired, 22 Oct. 2019
What’s more, Charles’s sententious interpretation of noblesse oblige leaves him open to the charge of overstepping the constitutional boundaries of his position.
—Zoë Heller, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sententious
Adjective
-
In this comprehensive yet concise history of modern polar exploration, Shubin, a professor of evolutionary biology, mixes urgent scientific findings about glaciers and sea-level rise with prescient geopolitical histories of Arctic territorial disputes.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
3 Mar. 2025
-
Her offbeat style and charming eccentricity informed the concise lineup in which high and low were intentionally merged.—
WWD,
WWD,
3 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Below are brief descriptions of the wines and tasting notes.—
Joseph V Micallef,
Forbes,
1 Mar. 2025
-
Letters should be brief and become the property of The Times.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
1 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Organized labor wanted to institute procedural reforms to ensure that officers were given opportunities to correct bad behavior before being let go—no more summary firings.—
Marc J. Dunkelman,
TIME,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Sure enough, the summary destruction of that lonely Russian tank became fodder for the Phoenix drone group’s social media team.—
David Axe,
Forbes,
16 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Costumes are one way that information about characters can be conveyed to an audience without being overly didactic.—
Rachel Elspeth Gross,
Forbes,
26 Feb. 2025
-
More emotional scenes, however, feel hammy and didactic, heavy on the telling over the showing (and that telling hinges on being damn blunt about the whole thing, to boot).—
Kate Erbland,
IndieWire,
19 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Dominick’s political survival skills in this predominantly Hispanic suburb are instructive.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Hamilton was also part of the casting process and offered instructive feedback.—
Sean Gregory / London and Maranello,
TIME,
27 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The United States has flipped from a moralistic benefactor to a transactional predator of Kyiv’s resources.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN,
24 Feb. 2025
-
Cigarettes were first popularized in a more moralistic era.—
Cal Newport,
The New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sententious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sententious. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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