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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sententious
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
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
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sententious
Adjective
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His words articulated a feeling many football fans have felt in a concise and beautiful way.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes.com,
26 Mar. 2025
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Now, the need to articulate our thoughts with precision compels us to deconstruct complex ideas, identify underlying assumptions, and formulate straightforward, concise questions.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes,
25 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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There was a brief moment when Russell managed to get amongst them after the first round of stops, only for Norris to quickly gain the place back a couple of laps later.—
Luke Smith,
The Athletic,
23 Mar. 2025
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While attempting to solve the case, the duo must learn how to partner despite Park’s never-ending skepticism of Cupp’s methods and Cupp’s commitment to stay true to herself, even if that means having brief intermissions for birding.—
Lexy Perez,
The Hollywood Reporter,
23 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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Ukraine is investigating more than 150,000 possible war crimes committed by Russia, including the summary execution of prisoners and targeted aerial strikes against civilians.—
David Faris,
Newsweek,
17 Mar. 2025
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He is accused of acting as the de facto leader of the Davao Death Squad, a group that was responsible for summary executions and the murder or disappearance of more than 1,000 people in and around the city.—
Lisandro Claudio,
The Conversation,
12 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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These speeches then feel didactic in a way Shepard’s script never does, their fourth-wall-breaking execution making the play feel disjointed and self-consciously stagy — which is also a problem with the performances.—
Maya Phillips,
New York Times,
26 Feb. 2025
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The original series found a way to achieve that: Slick, attractive characters delivered crisp legal jargon without coming off overly didactic.—
Emily Longeretta,
Variety,
13 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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Reputational Crises Reputational crises can also be instructive.—
Roman Reznikov,
Forbes.com,
27 Mar. 2025
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Here too, the historical parallel with animal cognition is instructive.—
David Chauvet,
JSTOR Daily,
26 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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The story is predictably moralistic and, frankly, more worried about conforming to contemporary mores than accurately representing what was going on in Cuba in the 1950s, dramatically speaking anyway.—
Chris Jones,
New York Daily News,
20 Mar. 2025
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The United States has flipped from a moralistic benefactor to a transactional predator of Kyiv’s resources.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN,
24 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sententious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sententious. Accessed 2 Apr. 2025.
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