Synonyms for sententious
- adjective
Most common
pregnant pointed concise pithy pretentious didactic axiomatic aphoristic
Definitions
- adj. 1
Using as few words as possible; pithy and concise.
Related words
- Word family
- sententiously sentential
Choose the right word
A sententious style is one abounding in sentences that are singly striking or memorable, apart from the context; the word may be used invidiously of that which is pretentiously oracular.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- pregnant "Your mother was pregnant then." "With me?" "Yes."
- pointed As you've already pointed out, that was a mistake.
- concise Either one is fine, but the former is more concise.
- pithy He couldn't come up with a pithy barb on the spot.
- pretentious I now have the ability to be a pretentious prick.
- didactic Mistakes have great didactic value.
Popularity over time
| Word | 1850 → 2019 | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| sententious | falling | |
| pregnant | rising | |
| pointed | steady | |
| concise | steady | |
| pithy | rising | |
| pretentious | steady |
Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.
By length
- 5 letters
- short1, terse1, pithy2
- 7 letters
- pointed2, compact2, concise2, laconic3
- 8 letters
- pregnant2, succinct2, didactic3
- 9 letters
- axiomatic5
- 10 letters
- aphoristic
- 11 letters
- pretentious3
- 12 letters
- epigrammatic5
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (pithy2 = 2 syllables).
In other languages
- Français
- sentencieux