lip service
nounDefinition of lip service
: 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
Recent Examples on the Web
Offering a security feature that is a pain to implement allows Facebook to give lip service to protecting users without actually giving up much. — Karla Peterson, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Why Facebook's new features aren't the upgrade we need," 2 May 2018 Labels and people in positions of power pay lip service to supporting LGBTQ artists. — Henry Youtt, Billboard, "Years & Years' Olly Alexander Talks 'Casual Homophobia' in The Music Industry: It 'Exists in the Fabric of Everything'," 10 July 2018 Until then, leagues and teams will pay lip service and pass down arbitrary suspensions and shake their heads gravely and announce committees that will disband when no one’s paying attention five years later. — Will Leitch, Daily Intelligencer, "The Sports World Needs Its #MeToo Moment," 27 June 2018 By choosing all white men to speak on behalf of the entire country, the Trump administration is once again reaffirming its commitment to white, male supremacy (while paying only the faintest of lip service to women's empowerment). — refinery29.com, "All 34 Official Nods For Brett Kavanaugh Were By Men. Here's What 34 Women Think.," 10 July 2018 And that’s why the American people are sick of the lip service and the hypocrisy. — Stephen A. Crockett Jr., The Root, "Jeff Sessions Joked About Separating Migrant Children From Their Loved Ones Because He’s Jeff Sessions," 27 June 2018 Her push on economic justice has exposed ways that Crowley, as a powerful Democrat who sits on the Committee on Ways and Means, pays lip service to the post-Trump resistance while maintaining largely centrist politics. — Bridget Read, Vogue, "28-Year-Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Might Just Be the Future of the Democratic Party," 25 June 2018 Otherwise, his Women's Health Week statement is more lip service based on ideology instead of data. — Seventeen, "President Trump's Statement for Women's Health Week is Full of Contradictions," 15 May 2017 This is why the American people are sick of the lip service and the hypocrisy. — Jen Kirby, Vox, "Attorney General Jeff Sessions claims “lunatic fringe” oppose Trump’s border policies," 26 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lip service.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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