Standard Lemma guide

sententious

adj · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • General-American, Received-Pronunciation: /sɛnˈtɛn.ʃəs/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɛnʃəs

1

adj

Meaning 1

Using as few words as possible; pithy and concise.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Tending to use aphorisms or maxims; especially, to such an extent as to engage in trite moralizing, even self-righteously so.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • His sententious remarks quickly bored the audience.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Full of meaning.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: obsolete

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective satellite

Meaning 4

concise and full of meaning- Hervey Allen

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • welcomed her pithy comments
  • the peculiarly sardonic and sententious style in which Don Luis composed his epigrams

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: pithy

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

abounding in or given to pompous or aphoristic moralizing- Kathleen Barnes

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • too often the significant episode deteriorates into sententious conversation

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Latin sententiōsus, from sententia (“opinion, purpose”).

Across languages

Translations

36 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: kernachtig — using as few words as possible
  • Finnish: ytimekäs — using as few words as possible
  • Finnish: niukkasanainen — using as few words as possible
  • Finnish: lyhytsanainen — using as few words as possible
  • Finnish: tiivis — using as few words as possible
  • French: concis — using as few words as possible
  • French: laconique — using as few words as possible
  • French: succint — using as few words as possible
  • Italian: conciso — using as few words as possible
  • Italian: succinto — using as few words as possible
  • Italian: laconico — using as few words as possible
  • Russian: афористи́чный (aforistíčnyj) — using as few words as possible
  • Russian: кра́ткий (krátkij) — using as few words as possible
  • Russian: сжатый (sžatyj) — using as few words as possible
  • Russian: лаконичный (lakoničnyj) — using as few words as possible
  • Spanish: conciso — using as few words as possible
  • Spanish: lacónico — using as few words as possible
  • Spanish: sucinto — using as few words as possible
  • Swedish: kärnfull — using as few words as possible
  • Swedish: koncis — using as few words as possible
  • Tibetan: ཚིག་ཉུང་དོན་བསྡུས་པ (tshig nyung don bsdus pa) — using as few words as possible
  • Tibetan: ཚིག་ཉུང་དོན་ཚང (tshig nyung don tshang) — using as few words as possible
  • Bulgarian: афористичен (aforističen) — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Dutch: moraliserend — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • French: sentencieux — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • French: pédant — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • French: pontifiant — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Greek: αποφθεγματικός (apofthegmatikós) — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Ancient Greek: ἀποφθεγματικός (apophthegmatikós) — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Russian: нравоучительный (nravoučitelʹnyj) — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Russian: менторский (mentorskij) — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Russian: сентенциозный (sentencioznyj) — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Spanish: sentencioso — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Swedish: moraliserande — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Swedish: aforistisk — tending to use aphorisms or maxims
  • Swedish: förnumstig — tending to use aphorisms or maxims