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View synonyms for sermon

sermon

[ sur-muhn ]

noun

  1. a discourse for the purpose of religious instruction or exhortation, especially one based on a text of Scripture and delivered by a member of the clergy as part of a religious service.
  2. any serious speech, discourse, or exhortation, especially on a moral issue.

    Synonyms: lecture

  3. a long, tedious speech.

    Synonyms: tirade, harangue, lecture



sermon

/ ˈsɜːmən; sɜːˈmɒnɪk /

noun

    1. an address of religious instruction or exhortation, often based on a passage from the Bible, esp one delivered during a church service
    2. a written version of such an address
  1. a serious speech, esp one administering reproof
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • sermonic, adjective
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Other Words From

  • sermon·less adjective
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Word History and Origins

Origin of sermon1

1150–1200; Middle English < Medieval Latin sermōn- (stem of sermō ) speech from pulpit, Latin: discourse, equivalent to ser- (base of serere to link up, organize) + -mōn- noun suffix
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Word History and Origins

Origin of sermon1

C12: via Old French from Latin sermō discourse, probably from serere to join together
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Compare Meanings

How does sermon compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

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Example Sentences

Loeffler dug into his past sermons and church affiliations, most prominently noting that a church with which he was affiliated decades ago had invited Fidel Castro to speak.

The ad is spliced with snippets of Warnock yelling during sermons.

The play presents itself as a time-transcending sermon of sorts, as Hamer addresses the modern audience through the gaze of her civil rights era perspective.

He says the couple didn’t appreciate his most recent sermon, which urged Christians to call out and challenge racism anywhere they saw it, including in their own church.

Every day a new sermon was delivered to me with a bow on it.

From Ozy

A Gaylard Williams Sunday sermon (which lasted for 45 minutes on average) was something to behold.

King says in a sermon a month later at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Selma, Alabama.

In Germany, a prominent Muslim imam gave a sermon asking Allah to kill all of the “Zionist Jews.”

“I agree with what the sermon was and what it was about,” she said.

Your sermon this Sunday morning: Is the power of prayer enough to overcome the German defense?

I felt just the same when I was married myself; but it's nothing to preaching one's first sermon.

The author of the life of St. Francis Xavier, asserts, that "by one sermon he converted ten thousand persons in a desert island."

A clergyman observed in his sermon, that this was unpardonable, as people did it with their eyes open.

Many years ago, while a clergyman on the coast of Cornwall was in the midst of his sermon, the alarm was given, A wreck!

In the churchyard, under a great tree, still standing, John Wesley preached his last open-air sermon.

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