Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
sententiously

sententiously

9.9
In a short way that gives moral advice and sounds self-important
  • adverb
  • /sɛnˈtɛnʃəsli/
  • Formal
translation icon : sentenciosamente
  • "You should always treat others with respect, as this is a value to live by," he said sententiously.

Examples

  • "The Lord moves in mysterious ways," she added sententiously.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • "Remember that honesty is the best policy," he reminded me sententiously with a serious expression.

  • "They are consumers," he groused sententiously.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • "It is an offense to discharge a firearm within the city dome," explained the officer sententiously.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • And so sententiously then—though all he had meant to do was explain—"in any case, my criteria for in-patient evaluation tend to be determined by broader clinical considerations."

    Fiction book (1997)

  • "The 'cult,'" said Helsse, somewhat sententiously, "is despised not for the look of its meeting halls, but for its provocative assumptions." "'Assumptions' bah!" declared the Refluxive in a voice of peevish complaint.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • "Life is a journey full of lessons to learn," she stated sententiously, hoping to impart her wisdom.

Synonyms

succinctly
vssententiously
20 5.5

In a short clear way using few words

keeps the concision but usually adds moralizing or self important feeling
concisely
vssententiously
6 4.4

In a clear, short way using few words

is similar but also carries a moralizing self important attitude
pithily
vssententiously
1 7.6

To say a lot with few strong words

adds a moralizing and self important tone to the brief meaning
aphoristically
vssententiously
8.7

To say something in a short, clever way that sounds like a wise saying

often adds a moralizing or self important tone to that clever brevity
telegraphically
vssententiously
  • Archaic
7.5

In a short, direct way using only a few words

keeps the terse brevity but often adds moralizing or self important tone
preachily
vssententiously
  • Informal
8.2

In a way that gives moral advice and sounds like a lecture

is moralizing but much more concise and full of meaning

Antonyms

vaguely
115 3.9

Not clearly or with few details

How Moralizing

preachily
  • Informal
8.2
sententiously
  • Formal
9.9
concisely
6 4.4
plainly
68 1.8

Surface Forms

sententiously positive

Morphology

sententiously = sententious (semi-transparent) = sentent + ious + ly

Forming an adverb with the productive suffix '-ly' from the adjective 'sententious' is a regular and predictable process.

Etymology

Sententiously comes from the Latin root sententia meaning 'opinion' and the verb sentire meaning 'to feel', like the words sentence and sentiment. So to speak sententiously is to give short, weighty 'opinions' or moral 'lessons', often in a self-important way.