sermonize

verb

ser·​mon·​ize ˈsər-mə-ˌnīz How to pronounce sermonize (audio)
sermonized; sermonizing

intransitive verb

1
: to compose or deliver a sermon
2
: to speak didactically or dogmatically

transitive verb

: to preach to or on at length
sermonizer noun

Examples of sermonize in a Sentence

She's a teacher who can talk to her students about serious subjects without sermonizing. did not believe that it was the president's place to sermonize, especially to other world leaders
Recent Examples on the Web The sermonizing lands hardest near the beginning and end of Life of Pi, where director Max Webster lets things get a little slack and starry-eyed. Vulture, 30 Mar. 2023 Raised in the segregated south, he was steeped in the tradition of Confederate preachers who sermonized to their flocks in the CSA on the holiness of white supremacy and characterized the Christian god as inherently racist. Jared Yates Sexton, The New Republic, 25 Mar. 2020 Fearmongering televangelists like Jim Bakker and Robert Tilton sermonized that those who didn’t follow Jesus—and those who didn’t donate heavily to the church—would face demons and end times. Jennifer Swann, Marie Claire, 6 Nov. 2019 O’Rourke’s early promise as a candidate sprang from his talents as a brooding, sermonizing communicator. Michael Luo, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2019 There is rarely a travel story that doesn’t touch upon, make reference to, or sermonize about food. Laura Delarato, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 July 2019 Adam Driver as Flip Zimmerman and John David Washington as Ron Stallworth Photo: Focus Features The conventional part of the film—relatively conventional, given the exuberant zigs and sermonizing zags within the narrative—varies sharply in tone. Joe Morgenstern, WSJ, 9 Aug. 2018 Last, we were shepherded to a midtown neighborhood, where Ford’s head of digital content sermonized on the in-car experience for AV passengers. Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 15 Nov. 2018 The Saddle River Reformed Church, better known as the Old Stone Church, whose current structure was completed in 1819, was the last church in New Jersey to have a minister sermonizing in Dutch. Julie Lasky, New York Times, 20 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sermonize.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sermonize was in 1635

Dictionary Entries Near sermonize

Cite this Entry

“Sermonize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sermonize. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

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