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
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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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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
-
During the hearing, Lutnick gave short and concise answers.—
Zach Halaschak,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
18 Feb. 2025
-
Huo’s project is to portray these social relations and material disparities with crispness, therefore the image is sharp, and though expansive, also concise.—
Ritesh Mehta,
IndieWire,
17 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
The scripted description of the library was very brief, with just one interesting detail — during installation, the new shelves opened up, like a flower.—
Bill Desowitz,
IndieWire,
17 Feb. 2025
-
The first Elam ending finish was great, giving us a dramatic (and brief) fix to the All-Star Game’s erosion.—
Zach Harper,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 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
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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
-
Its storytelling is straightforward, familiar, and even didactic, culminating in a dime-store Freudian sequence which flashes back to a moment from John’s childhood in which his father wins a painting contest at a local fair.—
Natalia Winkelman,
IndieWire,
28 Jan. 2025
-
There are several plot holes, extra scenes clearly included just to boost Sheridan's ego, and the dialogue has become overly preachy and didactic—almost as annoying as Aaron Sorkin's mini-sermons in later seasons of The West Wing, which is saying something.—
Ars Technica,
Ars Technica,
24 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Trump and Musk’s public statements are instructive here.—
Jessica Winter,
The New Yorker,
13 Feb. 2025
-
Reflecting on his enduring significance is important and instructive.—
Arthur I. Cyr,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2025
Adjective
-
Cigarettes were first popularized in a more moralistic era.—
Cal Newport,
The New Yorker,
22 Jan. 2025
-
How Polarizing Messaging Hurt DEI DEI often positioned itself as a solution to deep social problems, but its prescriptive and moralistic tone alienated some employees and customers.—
Gillian Oakenfull,
Forbes,
13 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sententious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sententious. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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