sententious

adj.

1. Terse and energetic in expression; pithy.
2. 1. Abounding in aphorisms.
   2. Given to aphoristic utterances.
3. 1. Abounding in pompous moralizing.
   2. Given to pompous moralizing.

[Middle English, from Old French sententieux, from Latin sententiōsus, full of meaning, from sententia, opinion. See sentence.]

sententiously sen·ten'tious·ly adv.
sententiousness sen·ten'tious·ness n.

(sen-TEN-shuhs)

adjective
1. Full of pithy expressions.
2. Full of pompous moralizing.

Etymology
From Middle English, from Latin sententiosus (full of meaning), from sententia (opinion), from sentire (to feel or to have an opinion). Some other words derived from the same root are: sense, sentence, sentiment, sentinel, assent, consent, dissent, resent.

Usage
"I enjoyed every glowing frame of the leisurely trip, which is punctuated by sententious epigrams. ('Lies are dreams caught red-handed,' or 'Marriage is the perfect murder of love.')" Joe Morgenstern; Film Review; The Wall Street Journal (New York); Aug 1, 2003.

"But 'The Reckoning,' like a great many medieval melodramas before it, is a talky, sententious affair." — A.O. Scott; Seeking Human Truths Through the Stage; The New York Times; Mar 5, 2004.

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moralistic, pithy

IN BRIEF: Concise, pithy; abounding with maxims and proverbs.

Politics is largely governed by sententious platitudes which are devoid of truth.      — Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), English logician and philosopher.

Dansk (Danish)
adj. - sententiøs, højtravende, docerende

Nederlands (Dutch)
moraliserend, bondig

Français (French)
adj. - sentencieux

Deutsch (German)
adj. - salbungsvoll, prägnant

Ελληνική (Greek)
adj. - αποφθεγματικός, αφοριστικός, πομπώδης

Italiano (Italian)
sentenzioso, sputasentenze

Português (Portuguese)
adj. - sentencioso, moralizador, solene

Русский (Russian)
нравоучительный

Español (Spanish)
adj. - sentencioso

Svenska (Swedish)
adj. - sententiös, aforistisk, lakonisk, koncis, docerande, högtravande

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
简洁的, 富于格言的, 警句的

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
adj. - 簡潔的, 富於格言的, 警句的

한국어 (Korean)
adj. - 간결한, 금언적인, 독선적인

日本語 (Japanese)
adj. - 金言的な, 簡潔な, 金言的な表現の多い, 気取った, 気障な

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(صفه) مكثر من ألمواعظ ألمضجرة, مختصر مفيد‏

עברית (Hebrew)
adj. - ‮אוהב הטפת מוסר מנופחת, רשמי ומלאכותי (סגנון), משתמש הרבה באימרות כדי ליצור סגנון קצר ומרשים‬

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