1
as in sermon
a public speech usually by a member of the clergy for the purpose of giving moral guidance or uplift
last Sunday's homily was about being kind to your neighbors
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2
as in cliche
an idea or expression that has been used by many people
a TV movie filled with the usual hokey homilies about people triumphing over life's adversities
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Recent Examples of homily
When lodging is granted, festivities ensue with prayers, scripture readings and a brief homily about Jesus’ birth.
—
Kamren Curiel, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
Of course there is, although thankfully there’s not too much heavy-handedness to the script’s inherent homilies about fake news and American authoritarianism not just being a byproduct of the 1930s.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Last week, the pontiff skipped his homily during Palm Sunday Mass.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2024
Archbishop of Baltimore William Lori gave a homily before Walker introduced the six minutes of silence.
—Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for homily
Kamren Curiel, Los Angeles Times, 4 Dec. 2024
Of course there is, although thankfully there’s not too much heavy-handedness to the script’s inherent homilies about fake news and American authoritarianism not just being a byproduct of the 1930s.
—Chris Willman, Variety, 16 June 2024
Last week, the pontiff skipped his homily during Palm Sunday Mass.
—Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2024
Archbishop of Baltimore William Lori gave a homily before Walker introduced the six minutes of silence.
—Dillon Mullan, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2024
See All Example Sentences for homily
Recent Examples of Synonyms for homily
Noun
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In addition, McLaren will deliver the morning sermon at two churches on Sunday, Feb. 23.—
News Release,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Feb. 2025
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Crystal Palace supporters especially will need few sermons.—
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Ditch the cliches to accelerate intimacy in new creative ways, like incorporating sensory experiences.—
Dominique Fluker,
Essence,
14 Feb. 2025
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All those cliches about teamwork and belief and optimism?—
Jon Wertheim,
CBS News,
9 Feb. 2025
Noun
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No matter how appropriate the words are, the communication will feel less like a celebration and more like an inauthentic, low-effort platitude due to the lack of human effort.—
Andrew Brodsky,
TIME,
11 Feb. 2025
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Perhaps the fires that devastated Los Angeles in early January will take such platitudes out of circulation, at least for a little while.—
Alex Ross,
The New Yorker,
1 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The two-dimensional characters communicate in bromides; Lena’s fellow privates, who suffer from the laziest defining characteristics (coarse Southern gal, proper preacher’s daughter, New Yorker), are the worst offenders.—
Vikram Murthi,
IndieWire,
6 Dec. 2024
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In place of triumph-of-the-human-spirit bromides, though, what the book delivers is its own kind of cinema, harsh and true.—
New York Times,
New York Times,
8 July 2024
Noun
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If Jude’s previous two fiction films were Molotov cocktails of indignation, his latest secretes a kind of scentless poison that gets at the banality with which social injustices are processed and rationalized.—
Beatrice Loayza,
New York Times,
21 Feb. 2025
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The scene that follows—an intense grief followed by a quick return to the dull and depraved routine of trying to score their next hit—captures both the extremism and the banality of addiction and homelessness.—
Jay Caspian Kang,
The New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2025
Noun
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As the old saying goes, the best defence is a good offence.—
Allan Mitchell,
The Athletic,
14 Feb. 2025
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As the old saying goes: When life gives you lemons, make Whiskey Sours.—
Jason O'Bryan,
Robb Report,
8 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But there’s a truism embedded in its hyperbole: Most people on good terms with their mother would describe her as the world’s greatest, regardless of any flaws and errors along the way.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
17 Feb. 2025
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Sure, better a Jesse than the Pacific Lumber Company, but there’s still a sentimental solipsism in Redwood, an uneasy aspect of emotional tourism smothered in a broadside of throw-pillow truisms on connection, growth, and healing.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
13 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The German proverb, roughly translated into English, means: Steady dripping caves the stone.—
Gabby Herzig,
The Athletic,
2 Jan. 2025
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But remember, where there’s fire, there’s smoke, which may be a reversal of the standard proverb but is highly relevant here.—
Bruce Y. Lee,
Forbes,
10 Jan. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Homily.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/homily. Accessed 2 Mar. 2025.
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