ISEE/SSAT Vocabulary BuilderWordsSsententious
ISEE/SSAThard
sententious
Meaning: given to pompous, moralizing statements
sententious in a sentence
How sententious is used in real sentences:
The headmaster's sententious remarks turned a brief announcement into a lecture on virtue.
The critic's sententious review scolded readers for enjoying such a frivolous comedy.
“At the final review, one adviser offered sententious warnings about scientists needing humility, as if a grand maxim could replace specific revisions.”
— from the passage When the Curve Breaks
“Director Inez Vale compounds the problem by framing each scene with sententious pronouncements from a chorus dressed as stranded tourists.”
— from the passage The Engineered Tempest
“Reform meetings grew vituperative, directing furious insults at the Lords, while some supporters answered with sententious declarations about virtue and inevitable progress.”
— from the passage The Reform Standoff
Synonyms for sententious
Other words for sententious — moralizing, preachy and pompous — carry the same meaning.
- moralizing
- preachy
- pompous
Antonyms of sententious
Words that mean the opposite of sententious:
- plainspoken
- modest
- unpretentious
Where it comes from
From Latin sententia, meaning 'opinion,' 'judgment,' or 'maxim.'
Memory hook
SENTENTIOUS contains SENTENCE: it describes someone always delivering pompous moral sentences.
Practice sententious in the app