lip service
noun
: an avowal of advocacy, adherence, or allegiance expressed in words but not backed by deeds
—usually used with pay
Examples of lip service in a Sentence
She paid lip service to blue-collar workers, but she did nothing to help them.
So far all we've gotten from him is lip service.
Recent Examples on the Web
Despite occasionally paying rhetorical lip service to accountability, the Sudanese authorities have never brought any Janjaweed commander to trial.
—
Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2025
Boosting consumer spending and livelihoods gets little more than lip service in the communiqué that followed the plenum at which the five-year plan was mapped out.
—Shaoyu Yuan, The Conversation, 5 Nov. 2025
Internally at studios and agencies, there’s confusion — and frustration — around the opt-out mechanism, according to people familiar with the matter, all of whom noted there’s no formal system for doing so and characterized Altman’s walk back as lip service.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
Harlem’s Fashion Row is doing revolutionary work within an industry that often has little to no regard for Black designers beyond lip service.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lip service
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Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 6 Nov. 2025
Boosting consumer spending and livelihoods gets little more than lip service in the communiqué that followed the plenum at which the five-year plan was mapped out.
—Shaoyu Yuan, The Conversation, 5 Nov. 2025
Internally at studios and agencies, there’s confusion — and frustration — around the opt-out mechanism, according to people familiar with the matter, all of whom noted there’s no formal system for doing so and characterized Altman’s walk back as lip service.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 15 Oct. 2025
Harlem’s Fashion Row is doing revolutionary work within an industry that often has little to no regard for Black designers beyond lip service.
—Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for lip service
Cite this Entry
“Lip service.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lip%20service. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
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