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
The Dream are hoping this statement court becomes a template for how sports partnerships can actually advance the conversation instead of just paying lip service to it.
—
Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 22 May 2025
That tribute feels not in the least like someone paying lip service.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
Moreover, tensions are emerging among Russian elites as a result of Putin’s efforts to push aside existing business leaders, bureaucrats, and others in favor of loyalists who adhere to the regime’s ideology or at least pay lip service to it, such as war veterans.
—Andrei Yakovlev, Foreign Affairs, 16 May 2025
Jeff Nathanson’s awkwardly literal-minded script pays occasional lip service to these ideas, but the movie itself fails to give us anything resembling an actual cinematic experience of them.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for lip service
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Kimberly Wilson, Essence, 22 May 2025
That tribute feels not in the least like someone paying lip service.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 19 May 2025
Moreover, tensions are emerging among Russian elites as a result of Putin’s efforts to push aside existing business leaders, bureaucrats, and others in favor of loyalists who adhere to the regime’s ideology or at least pay lip service to it, such as war veterans.
—Andrei Yakovlev, Foreign Affairs, 16 May 2025
Jeff Nathanson’s awkwardly literal-minded script pays occasional lip service to these ideas, but the movie itself fails to give us anything resembling an actual cinematic experience of them.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 19 Dec. 2024
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 25 May. 2025.
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