as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience it's a common maxim that "a watched pot never boils," but that's not literally true

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of maxim Some posters and signs displayed outside Trump Tower referred to an ancient maxim about the moral obligation to speak out against injustice, Fornari said. Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 13 Aug. 2025 The celebrity certainly lived up to that maxim. Daniel Cote, Robb Report, 4 Aug. 2025 That maxim certainly applies to the push by Chicago Public Schools and Chicago Teachers Union leadership to look to the tax increment financing program as a cure-all for their $734 million budget shortfall. Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 4 Aug. 2025 Such is the folly of an uninformed electorate, vulnerable and exploitable to the maxims of tyranny. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 17 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for maxim
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maxim
Noun
  • On the other hand, perhaps this is one of those rare and unforeseen opportunities that give rise to the proverb of no guts, no glory.
    Lance Eliot, Forbes.com, 18 Sep. 2025
  • For centuries, the proverb has reminded us that seeing is believing.
    Mark Ellwood, Robb Report, 16 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Everybody uses that as a saying.
    Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
  • But, as the saying goes, that's what makes a market.
    Zev Fima, CNBC, 23 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Before that, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon — the other three of the four Mousquetaires of French men’s tennis — have sent Monfils off into his last season with some kind words.
    James Hansen, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
  • One-word answers litter the path toward your desperate, fumbling attempt to get away.
    Jonny Thomson, Big Think, 1 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • According to the runway show's website, this year's event centered on reimagining a classic French motto.
    Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 30 Sep. 2025
  • Ohio State won a national championship eight months ago, but there’s a motto going around the players that last year doesn’t matter because this team hasn’t accomplished anything yet.
    Cameron Teague Robinson, New York Times, 28 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Birds of a feather flock together, the adage goes.
    Mike Snider, USA Today, 24 Sep. 2025
  • The adage about the key to gardening success being to put the right plant in the right place has never been truer.
    Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 22 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Maxim.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maxim. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.

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