homiletic
adjective
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Homiletic came to us by way of Latin from Greek homilētikos, meaning "affable" or "social." Homilētikos came from homilein, meaning "to talk with," "to address," or "to make a speech," which in turn came from homilos, the Greek word for "crowd" or "assembly." Homilos and homilein also gave English, by way of Latin homilia and French omelie, the word homily, which is used for a short sermon, a lecture on a moral theme, and an inspirational catchphrase or platitude. Like homily, homiletic focuses on the morally instructive nature of a discourse. Homiletic can also be used derogatorily in the sense of "preachy."
Examples of homiletic in a Sentence
Joanne M. Pierce, The Conversation, 6 July 2023
There’s a word for this style of narrative preaching—homiletic.
—Jo Livingstone, The New Republic, 6 Apr. 2021
That interpretation of Kipling’s homiletic verse required her to overlook its gender-specific language, which is directed exclusively to boys who want to be men.
—Danny Heitman, The Christian Science Monitor, 15 July 2019
There was no Jesus in that house, no Bible, no devotional materials of any kind, no crucifixes or homiletic asides, nothing.
—Stephen Metcalf, The New Yorker, 19 May 2017
Cite this Entry
“Homiletic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/homiletic. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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