SENTENTIOUS Synonyms: 76 Similar and Opposite Words

sententious

adjective

sen-ˈten(t)-shəs

Definition of sententious

as in moralizing

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

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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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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 sententious Even in the fixedness of their forms—their sententious certitude—a single work may conflate the erotic and the machinic, the vernacular and the archetypal, the abstract and the practical. — Ara H. Merjian, ARTnews.com, 16 Aug. 2026 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 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for sententious

Adjective

Together with his lover Madame de Staël and their circle, Constant arrived at the idea—not in direct response to the Königsberg scandal but in response to the moralizing public absolutism of the age—that liberty required privacy to flourish.

— Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2026
This is a radical concept in today’s mental health culture, shaped by social media’s moralizing and rampant shaming.

— Josh Penn Soskin, Variety, 16 July 2026

Definition of moralizing

Adjective

In a statement, Labrador told the Idaho Statesman that the law clearly states both offices are responsible for writing clear and concise explanations of voter choices on ballot initiatives.

— Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 27 Aug. 2026
Longer messages Many providers would suggest clear, concise messages from their patients.

— Elise Haulund, CNN Money, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of concise

Adjective

Parton died Tuesday at 80 following a brief battle with cancer.

— Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026
Previous research has shown that on average, one death is prevented for every 230 naloxone kits distributed, so even this brief ban may have resulted in several preventable overdose deaths.

— Paul Christine, The Conversation, 25 Aug. 2026

Definition of brief

Adjective

Summaries of their sins and absurdities have now filled several books, but a sampler is instructive.

— Grayson Haver Currin, Pitchfork, 30 Aug. 2026
What The Flows Actually Show Cordros made a second observation in that April note which has travelled less widely than its dollar range, and which is the more instructive of the two.

— Dara-Abasi Ita, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of instructive

Adjective

The judge considered hundreds of pages of evidence and testimony from San Diego officials, homeowners and their lawyers and determined that the city had not met the burden for what is called summary adjudication in any of the five causes of actions.

— Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2026
Such rights obviously do not include summary execution at sea.

— Mary Ellen O'Connell, The Conversation, 4 Sep. 2025

Definition of summary

Adjective

Navy excels at untangling human emotions and picking through them without being didactic or moralistic.

— Dash Lewis, Pitchfork, 10 June 2026
Last year, a YouTube channel called Akhbar Enfejari (Explosive News) began posting a variety of digital content with a political and moralistic bent.

— Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026

Definition of moralistic

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“Sententious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sententious. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of sententious

adjective

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