as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience
what does the aphorism "Hindsight is 20/20" mean?
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Recent Examples of aphorism
Vertical white banners bearing Daoist aphorisms and traditional Chinese landscapes adorned the façade.
—
Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
Among the oldest such cultural translations are the Hippocratic aphorisms.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
There is no better proof for this aphorism than the American military’s escalating spat with Anthropic, the creator of the artificial-intelligence model Claude.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Nietzsche spoke through Zarathustra, aphorisms, and self-contradiction.
—Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for aphorism
Adam Ciralsky, Vanity Fair, 19 Mar. 2026
Among the oldest such cultural translations are the Hippocratic aphorisms.
—Jan Steyn, The Dial, 10 Mar. 2026
There is no better proof for this aphorism than the American military’s escalating spat with Anthropic, the creator of the artificial-intelligence model Claude.
—Idrees Kahloon, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2026
Nietzsche spoke through Zarathustra, aphorisms, and self-contradiction.
—Big Think, 5 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for aphorism
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aphorism
Noun
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What does the phrase squeaky bum time, the racehorse Devon Loch, and the Portuguese proverb ‘morrer na prais’ all have in common?—
Ian Irving,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
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The rooms The old Japanese proverb ‘*kachou fuugetsu’—*which translates as ‘flower, bird, wind, moon’ evoking a sense of the transient beauty of nature—is a key concept at the hotel.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
26 Feb. 2026
Noun
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What’s that famous saying about hell hath no fury?—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
16 May 2026
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Sets come in half-dozens and include designs like a soccer ball, a flag, celebratory sayings in the language and a jersey, according to its website.—
Noelle Alviz-Gransee
May 15,
Kansas City Star,
15 May 2026
Noun
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Each puzzle has exactly one solution, so watch out for words or items that seem to belong to multiple categories!—
Mark Cooper,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
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One important tool in early natural-language-processing work was ranking the frequency of word sequences.—
Jill Lepore,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
Noun
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But that maxim may not hold up this year.—
Sarah Min,
CNBC,
27 Apr. 2026
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But the maxim applies in a different way in the documentary Fork in the Road, which made its world premiere Saturday at the Sonoma International Film Festival in California’s wine country.—
Matthew Carey,
Deadline,
29 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Aphorism.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aphorism. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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