sen·ten·tious

[sen-ten-shuhs]
adjective
1.
abounding in pithy aphorisms or maxims: a sententious book.
2.
given to excessive moralizing; self-righteous.
3.
given to or using pithy sayings or maxims: a sententious poet.
4.
of the nature of a maxim; pithy.

Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin sententiōsus meaningful. See sentence, -ous

sen·ten·tious·ly, adverb
sen·ten·tious·ness, sen·ten·ti·os·i·ty [sen-ten-shee-os-i-tee] , noun
non·sen·ten·tious, adjective
non·sen·ten·tious·ly, adverb
non·sen·ten·tious·ness, noun
un·sen·ten·tious, adjective
un·sen·ten·tious·ly, adverb
un·sen·ten·tious·ness, noun


2. preachy, didactic, sanctimonious, moralistic.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To sententious
00:10
Sententious is always a great word to know.
So is ort. Does it mean:
a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
Collins
World English Dictionary
sententious (sɛnˈtɛnʃəs) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj
1.  characterized by or full of aphorisms, terse pithy sayings, or axioms
2.  constantly using aphorisms, etc
3.  tending to indulge in pompous moralizing
 
[C15: from Latin sententiōsus full of meaning, from sententia; see sentence]
 
sen'tentiously
 
adv
 
sen'tentiousness
 
n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

sententious
1440, "full of meaning," from M.Fr. sententieux, from L. sententiosus "full of meaning, pithy," from sententia "opinion, maxim" (see sentence). Meaning "addicted to pompous moralizing" first recorded 1598.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
Example sentences
Sententious, witty sayings ap pear on almost every page.
They succeeded, becoming prosperous, and piety mingled with smugness made the whole family insufferably sententious.
When he is not delivering sententious commonplaces or indulging in heavy whimsy, he makes an agreeable guide.
To be really bad, a film should be pretentious and sententious.
Related Words
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT