sententious

adjective

sen-ˈten(t)-shəs How to pronounce sententious (audio)
Definition of sententiousnext
1
as in moralizing
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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sententious Even in the fixedness of their forms—their sententious certitude—a single work may conflate the erotic and the machinic, the vernacular and the archetypal, the abstract and the practical. — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 16 Aug. 2026 This conclusion will shock anyone who knows Twain only through his writing, in which the author is wise and witty and, above all, devastating in his portrayal of frauds, cretins, and sententious bores. — Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025 Audiences have no choice but to exist in the theatrical moment, without recourse to linear logic, sententious language or psychological epiphanies. — Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2025 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sententious
  1. moralizing
  2. concise
  3. didactic
  4. brief
  5. instructive
  6. summary
  7. moralistic
Adjective
  • But the show also develops a moralizing streak in its back half.
    — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Eliot departs here from the moralizing messages of Memling and La Tour.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of moralizing
Adjective
  • The concise and approachable show is divided into four thematic sections encapsulating the Sea Beyond project’s educational scope.
    — Martino Carrera, Footwear News, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Be concise—present core insights in 10 minutes, save five for discussion.
    — Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of concise
Adjective
  • At times, the photographs have the glossy, didactic quality of the figures in a textbook.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Their version is irreverent, but less conceptual and didactic about its sense of humor.
    — José Criales-Unzueta, Vanity Fair, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of didactic
Adjective
  • This episode notably lacked any nod to Trump, though mentions of the president as a whole have been brief compared to the previous season, when the president was the show’s focal point for absurd antics.
    — Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The questions came after Zacharia made a brief debut to the media on Tuesday, taking just three questions from reporters after reading off a script.
    — Michael Birnbaum The Washington Post, Arkansas Online, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of brief
Adjective
  • There is something instructive in the agent concluding a diatribe on quelling revolutionary violence with a note about feeling inspired.
    — Stephanie Wambugu, Vulture, 12 Oct. 2026
  • The opportunity to study both cuts side by side is invaluable for Kubrick enthusiasts — and instructive for film students interested in examining what drastically different effects the same footage can yield.
    — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of instructive
Adjective
  • The judge considered hundreds of pages of evidence and testimony from San Diego officials, homeowners and their lawyers and determined that the city had not met the burden for what is called summary adjudication in any of the five causes of actions.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
  • Such rights obviously do not include summary execution at sea.
    — Mary Ellen O'Connell, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025
Definition of summary
Adjective
  • Thou Shalt Not Steal, which launches on October 6, is a coming-of-age, roadtrip, moralistic odyssey about the lies people tell themselves and each other.
    — Peter White, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
  • If the senator’s moralism has been unfettered by his stroke, with a shift toward right-brain moralistic processing, that does not diminish his sincere intent or its effect.
    — Michael P.H. Stanley, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of moralistic

Browse Nearby Words

sententiae
sententious
sententiously
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Cite this Entry

“Sententious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sententious. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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