Meanings
adjectiveparaenetical (comparative more paraenetical, superlative most paraenetical)
comparative more paraenetical · superlative most paraenetical · alternative parænetical · alternative parenetical
- archaicGiving advice; advisory, hortatory.
To what end are such paraenetical discourses? You may as soon remove Mount Caucasus as alter some men's affections.
1624, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], The Anatomy of Melancholy: […], 2nd edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] John Lichfield and James Short, for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition II, section 3, member 1, subsection i
Origin
From Late Latin paraeneticus + -al.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
APA
paraenetical. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraenetical
MLA
“paraenetical.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraenetical. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “paraenetical,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/paraenetical.
Source: paraenetical on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.