1
as in homiletical
marked by or given to preaching moral values
a sententious crank who has written countless letters to the editor about the decline in family values
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in concise
marked by the use of few words to convey much information or meaning
memoirs that are filled with sententious observations on love, marriage, and happiness
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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Recent Examples of sententious
This conclusion will shock anyone who knows Twain only through his writing, in which the author is wise and witty and, above all, devastating in his portrayal of frauds, cretins, and sententious bores.
—
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025
Audiences have no choice but to exist in the theatrical moment, without recourse to linear logic, sententious language or psychological epiphanies.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2025
This is a bracing, even novel, perspective on a war whose film depictions so often traffic in sententious Greatest Generation platitudes.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Only the vivid image of the warped planks keeps this remark from being the type of sententious counsel that Polonius might have given his son.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
Without the wit inherent in an epigram, a sententious formulation becomes a mere adage, aphorism, apothegm, gnome, maxim, or saw.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Instead each event—from lethal accidents to vicious murders to Category 5 hurricanes—is immediately sorted into its prelabeled moral narrative file, each one full of similarly useful sententious parables.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 30 May 2022
Dialogue is rendered in the pseudo-profound pronouncements that have become the sententious lingua franca of the hero’s quest.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2022
This melodramatic narrative fits right into American indie filmmaker Kelly Reichardt’s domain, but Francis Lee is a less sententious proselytizer for gay life.
—Armond White, National Review, 13 Nov. 2020
Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 9 May 2025
Audiences have no choice but to exist in the theatrical moment, without recourse to linear logic, sententious language or psychological epiphanies.
—Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2025
This is a bracing, even novel, perspective on a war whose film depictions so often traffic in sententious Greatest Generation platitudes.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 25 Oct. 2024
Only the vivid image of the warped planks keeps this remark from being the type of sententious counsel that Polonius might have given his son.
—Nikhil Krishnan, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
Without the wit inherent in an epigram, a sententious formulation becomes a mere adage, aphorism, apothegm, gnome, maxim, or saw.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Instead each event—from lethal accidents to vicious murders to Category 5 hurricanes—is immediately sorted into its prelabeled moral narrative file, each one full of similarly useful sententious parables.
—Gerard Baker, WSJ, 30 May 2022
Dialogue is rendered in the pseudo-profound pronouncements that have become the sententious lingua franca of the hero’s quest.
—Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 21 Apr. 2022
This melodramatic narrative fits right into American indie filmmaker Kelly Reichardt’s domain, but Francis Lee is a less sententious proselytizer for gay life.
—Armond White, National Review, 13 Nov. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sententious
Adjective
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That’s compared to more concise models which required just 37.7 tokens per question.—
Simmone Shah,
Time,
19 June 2025
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The researchers found that the reasoning models generated significantly more tokens, which correlate with CO₂ emissions, than the more concise models.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
19 June 2025
Adjective
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In a brief exchange with reporters on Friday, Carney addressed questions about the breakdown in talks.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
29 June 2025
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Some suggestions seem easy and inexpensive to implement — encouraging law enforcement officers to issue a civil citation for non-violent misdemeanor offenses, an alternative to an arrest that requires a jail booking and often only a brief stay behind bars for the offender.—
Stephen Hudak,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 June 2025
Adjective
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Human Rights Watch said M23’s efforts to consolidate control of Goma have involved possible war crimes, including the summary execution of civilians in February.—
Michela Wrong,
NBC news,
6 June 2025
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Unlike traditional employee income, business income does not always come with summary tax forms like the W2 at the end of the year.—
Vlad Rusz,
Forbes.com,
15 May 2025
Adjective
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This is, in large part, a refreshing break from the didactic tone of so many crime shows, although Frank does leave some compelling ideas insufficiently examined.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
29 May 2025
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In the wrong hands, this could be too didactic and clumsy, but it’s deftly executed, and the integration of songs, drama, and dance is seamless—and often stunning.—
Daniel Dylan Wray,
Pitchfork,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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The contrast with regulatory approaches elsewhere is instructive.—
Cornelia C. Walther,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
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Launch: as early as 2027 Here, lessons from DART are instructive.—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
11 June 2025
Adjective
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The same moralistic spirit that once defined Minnesota’s politics now fuels passionate polarization.—
David Schultz,
New York Daily News,
17 June 2025
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Those on the left must recognize that their moralistic zeal and narrowing of intellectual discourse have turned educational and cultural institutions into engines of alienation, not trust.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Sententious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sententious. Accessed 3 Jul. 2025.
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