preach

[ preech ]

verb (used with object)

1. to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).
2. to deliver (a sermon).
3. to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.

verb (used without object)

1. to deliver a sermon.
2. to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.

   Synonyms: expound, pronounce, profess, advocate

3. to give earnest advice in an obtrusive or tedious way.

preach

/ priːtʃ /

verb

1. to make known (religious truth) or give religious or moral instruction or exhortation in (sermons)
2. to advocate (a virtue, action, etc), esp in a moralizing way

Derived Forms

• ˈpreachable, adjective

Other Words From

• out·preach verb (used with object)
• un·preached adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of preach¹

1175–1225; Middle English prechen < Old French pre ( ë ) chier < Late Latin praedicāre to preach ( Latin: to assert publicly, proclaim). See predicate

Word History and Origins

Origin of preach¹

C13: from Old French prechier, from Church Latin praedicāre, from Latin: to proclaim in public; see predicate

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. preach to the choir. preach to the choir.

More idioms and phrases containing preach

In addition to the idiom beginning with preach , also see practice what you preach .

Example Sentences

I devour a lot of self-help and self-improvement books, and many preach about the dangers of what happens when you give up.

From Los Angeles Times

As investigative journalists like Kathryn Joyce for Salon have documented, the Capitol riot was rooted in Christian nationalism and other far-right ideologies that explicitly preach a belief in strict social hierarchies that put white men in authority over everyone else.

From Salon

“It certainly cannot argue that it is an agent of change. In the past it has always tried to say it’s about keeping stability - more of the same - and out of panic they are trying to preach what they don’t believe in.”

From BBC

Passages that inspired Christians to open settlement houses to shelter poor city dwellers and join union picket lines to fight against decrepit working conditions also formed the core of Martin Luther King Jr.'s argument that pastors cannot preach the glories of heaven while ignoring the earthly hell of racialized oppression.

From Salon

As Nelson demonstrates via "Daytime Revolution," the couple’s efforts to preach unity in the face of that era’s deep acrimony is a lesson that we could sorely use today.

From Salon

Related Words

• admonish
• exhort