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Glite Dictionary
to sermonize

to sermonize

2 8.0
To give advice about right and wrong for a long time in a boring way
  • verb
  • /ˈsɜrməˌnaɪz/
translation icon : predicar
  • The pastor began to sermonize about the importance of kindness and compassion during the Sunday service.
  • a preacher sermonizes

The Guardian has said in it's very high handed sermonising way we are leaving Twitter.

Examples

  • Prophet Joshua sermonized on the theme 'Our Mediator', picking his proof text from John 14:6.

    Blog text (25)

  • As Luke was the host, he was asked to sermonize.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • And as with addiction, some who manage to crawl out choose to stay at the edge of the swamp, sermonizing those who are still stuck.

    Blog text (12)

  • He just sermonizes and recites Scripture in response to anything they propose.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • One month before the war, Televangelist Charles Stanley sermonized on the issue, saying, "God approves of war" and hates peaceniks.

    Academic text (2003)

  • How Father Gamot had once sermonized on the matter, citing the words of Matthew, not the pig farmer but the tax-gathering apostle from Capernaum.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Both Shariati and Khomeini sermonized against the Pahlavi state, but once in power, Khomeini's Islam followed the logic of Safavid Islam.

    Academic text (1998)

  • During the lecture, he would often sermonize, lecturing the students on moral values and ethics.

  • She disliked it when her uncle would sermonize at family gatherings, often making his points in a tedious manner.

Synonyms

to preach
vsto sermonize
  • Formal
169 3.2

To give a religious talk to people in a church

is used broadly to give moral judgments beyond formal religious settings
to lecture
vsto sermonize
89 4.6

To give someone a long serious talk that warns or scolds them about what they did

is similar but is more like moral advice given in religious style
to pontificate
vsto sermonize
13 8.7

To speak in a self-important way as if always right

is more focused on moral judgment and tedious moral advice than pompous opinion
to moralize
vsto sermonize
3 7.2

Tell someone that their actions are right or wrong in a way that sounds like a lecture

is about moral judgment but presented as formal religious speech
to speechify
vsto sermonize
1 9.4

To give a long formal speech that sounds boring and self-important

is specifically moralizing and tedious rather than merely pompous speech
to preachify
vsto sermonize
  • Informal
1 8.6

To speak in a long, moral way that makes people feel judged

is the same but is framed as formal religious talk giving moral judgments

How Preachy

harangue
4 8.9
to preach
  • Formal
169 3.2
to sermonize
2 8.0
to lecture
89 4.6
to advise
414 2.2

Surface Forms

sermonize infinitive
sermonized past
sermonized past participle
sermonizing present participle
sermonizes third person singular

Morphology

sermonize = sermon (transparent) = sermon + ize

The verb is predictably formed from the noun 'sermon' with the productive verb-forming suffix '-ize' meaning 'to act like or give a sermon'.

Etymology

Sermonize comes from sermon, a church 'speech' or 'moral talk'. The ending -ize means 'to make' or 'to do', so to sermonize is to give a long talk, like a preacher, that tells people how to behave.