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Definition of "sententious" [sen•ten•tious]

  • Terse and energetic in expression; pithy. (adjective)
  • Abounding in aphorisms. (adjective)
  • Given to aphoristic utterances. (adjective)
  • Abounding in pompous moralizing. (adjective)
  • Given to pompous moralizing. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "sententious" in a sentence
  • "Although Buddy did not know the word "sententious," the people he described were the embodiment of it -- licensed bores, as all aborigines seemed to be (so he implied), who had a proverb or a biblical passage for every reversal in life."
  • "But wherever in his Gospel S. Mark is doing the same thing, he is observed to adopt the style and manner which Dr. Davidson is pleased to call "sententious" and "abrupt.""
  • "[253] And yet, if it were ever so "sententious," ever so "abrupt;" and if his "brief notices" were ever so "loosely linked together;" -- these, according to Dr. Davidson, would only be indications that S. Mark actually was their Author."