Meanings
comparative more sententious · superlative most sententious
- Tending to the frequent use aphorisms or maxims; especially, in a manner that is affected, trite or self-righteous.
His sententious remarks quickly bored the audience.
Synonyms: aphoristic
- obsoleteFull of meaning.First known use 16th c.
More ouer, towarde the acquiringe of maiestie, thre thinges be required in the o∣ration of a man hauyng autoritie, that it be compendious, sententious, and delectable
1537, Sir Thomas Elyot, “Cap 2: The exposition of maiestie”, in The Governour, volume Book 2, London: Thomas Berthelet, page 101f
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectiveTending to the frequent use aphorisms or maxims; especially, in a manner that is affected, trite or self-righteous.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectiveabounding in or given to pompous or aphoristic moralizing
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinsententiōsus
- Englishsententious
From Latin sententiōsus, from sententia (“opinion, purpose”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀποφθεγματικός
- ἀποφθεγματικός (apophthegmatikós)tending to use aphorisms or maxims
Bulgarian афористичен
- афористичен (aforističen)tending to use aphorisms or maxims
Dutch kernachtig, moraliserend
- kernachtigusing as few words as possible
- moraliserendtending to use aphorisms or maxims
Finnish ytimekäs, niukkasanainen
- ytimekäsusing as few words as possible
- niukkasanainenusing as few words as possible
- lyhytsanainenusing as few words as possible
- tiivisusing as few words as possible
French concis, laconique
- concisusing as few words as possible
- laconiqueusing as few words as possible
- succintusing as few words as possible
- sentencieuxtending to use aphorisms or maxims
- pédanttending to use aphorisms or maxims
- pontifianttending to use aphorisms or maxims
German geschwollen
- geschwollentending to use aphorisms or maxims
Greek αποφθεγματικός
- αποφθεγματικός (apofthegmatikós)tending to use aphorisms or maxims
Italian conciso, succinto
- concisousing as few words as possible
- succintousing as few words as possible
- laconicousing as few words as possible
Russian афористи́чный, кра́ткий
- афористи́чный (aforistíčnyj)using as few words as possible
- кра́ткий (krátkij)using as few words as possible
- сжатый (sžatyj)using as few words as possible
- лаконичный (lakoničnyj)using as few words as possible
- нравоучительный (nravoučitelʹnyj)tending to use aphorisms or maxims
- менторский (mentorskij)tending to use aphorisms or maxims
- сентенциозный (sentencioznyj)tending to use aphorisms or maxims
Spanish conciso, lacónico
- concisousing as few words as possible
- lacónicousing as few words as possible
- sucintousing as few words as possible
- sentenciosotending to use aphorisms or maxims
Swedish kärnfull, koncis
- kärnfullusing as few words as possible
- koncisusing as few words as possible
- moraliserandetending to use aphorisms or maxims
- aforistisktending to use aphorisms or maxims
- förnumstigtending to use aphorisms or maxims
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with sententious
All rhymes →Cite this entry
sententious. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sententious
“sententious.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sententious. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sententious,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sententious.
Source: sententious on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.