Definition of epigramnext
as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience Benjamin Franklin's famous epigram, "Remember that time is money"

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Recent Examples of epigram Johnson is the author of the epigrams, but Boswell is very much the co-author. David Frum, The Atlantic, 27 May 2026 Holmes’ feed is a babbling stream of self-help epigrams, ankle-deep reflections and many, many photos of herself. Mark Z. Barabak, Mercury News, 10 Dec. 2025 It’s been codified as myths, proverbs, clichés, epigrams, parables; the skeleton of every great story. Jann E. Freed, Forbes.com, 18 June 2025 Throughout, Snook hams for laughs, turning Wilde’s witticisms and epigrams into slapstick. Christian Lewis, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025 Her poems of that era — sonnets, epigrams, eminently quotable snippets of rhymed gossip — pulse with the dynamism and attitude of the modern city. A.o. Scott, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025 By greatly expanding the dimensions of his images, with their muted palettes, tight cropping, found symmetries, and laconic wit, had the maestro of the photographic epigram betrayed his subtractive aesthetic? James Quandt, Artforum, 2 June 2026 That celebrated epigram is delivered by the character of Octave, who is the greatest creation of Renoir’s career—not least because he’s played by Renoir in a performance that’s essentially a self-portrait, even an onscreen self-creation. Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for epigram
Noun
  • The reason can be explained by a Japanese proverb about the importance of leaving no mess.
    Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 June 2026
  • Popeye the Sailor Man has been guzzling spinach since 1931 to build muscle, while the apple-a-day advice derives from a 19th-century Welsh proverb.
    Samantha Conti, Footwear News, 5 May 2026
Noun
  • One popular saying suggests a knot tied on a rainy day is harder to untie.
    Bryan West, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • But your abhorrence of the outcomes of particular elections doesn’t justify your saying, Well, the hell with that.
    Hanna Rosin, The Atlantic, 2 July 2026
Noun
  • While the theme words will not be a proper name, the spangram can be a proper name.
    Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 8 July 2026
  • After a two-year process, the Diocese of Duluth awaits word from the Vatican on whether Monsignor Joseph Buh — a Slovenian immigrant to the region — could be Minnesota’s first saint, and the nation’s 12th.
    Vivian Wilson, Twin Cities, 8 July 2026
Noun
  • Cruyff came up with many aphorisms over the course of his life.
    James Horncastle, New York Times, 30 June 2026
  • In romance, Tolstoy’s aphorism about the family is reversed.
    Lillian Fishman, New Yorker, 27 June 2026

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“Epigram.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/epigram. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

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