preach

[preech]

See more synonyms for preach on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)

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

verb (used without object)

to deliver a sermon.
to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.
to do this in an obtrusive or tedious way.

Origin of preach

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

Related formsout·preach, verb (used with object)un·preached, adjective

Synonyms for preach

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5. advocate, profess, pronounce, expound.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for preach

teach, exhort, admonish, orate, sermonize, prophesy, deliver, inform, minister, address, evangelize, talk, blow, urge, advocate, harangue, preachify, mission, missionary, pulpiteer

Examples from the Web for preach

Contemporary Examples of preach

At Christianity Today, Peter Chin claims Christians should preach peace instead of bogging down in the particulars of race.
No Gods, No Cops, No Masters
James Poulos
January 1, 2015
Priests often preach support for the regime to their congregations, many of whom loudly dissent.
In One Corner of Syria, Christmas Spirit Somehow Manages to Survive
Peter Schwartzstein
December 25, 2014
Sex and the City fans were right behind her, ready to preach.
Confessions of a Rom-Com Writer: Liz Tuccillo Talks ‘Sex and the City,’ ‘Take Care,’ and More
Kevin Fallon
December 5, 2014
We should partner with them to get the message across, have them at the table, and listen rather than preach.
The New Face of HIV Is Gay & Young
Adebisi Alimi
December 1, 2014
Each step of the way, Booker has thrived on the philosophy that your actions matter more than what you preach.
Talking Tofurky With Newly Vegan Cory Booker
Vlad Chituc
November 26, 2014

Historical Examples of preach

On most Sundays doth he preach here in the nave to all sorts of folk.
The Armourer's Prentices
Charlotte M. Yonge
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
An Explanation of Luther's Small Catechism
Joseph Stump
Herr Pastor has other functions than to preach to the living.
Camps, Quarters and Casual Places
Archibald Forbes
He continued to preach until he had reached his eighty-third year.
The Works of Whittier, Volume VI (of VII)
John Greenleaf Whittier
My mother, my father, will preach a very different doctrine.
Alice, or The Mysteries, Complete
Edward Bulwer-Lytton

British Dictionary definitions for preach

preach

verb

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

Derived Formspreachable, adjective

Word Origin for preach

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

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

Word Origin and History for preach

at first in late Old English predician, a loan word from Church Latin; reborrowed 12c. as preachen, from Old French preechier "to preach, give a sermon" (11c., Modern French précher), from Late Latin praedicare "to proclaim publicly, announce" (in Medieval Latin "to preach"), from Latin prae "before" (see pre-) + dicare "to proclaim, to say" (see diction). Related: Preached; preaching. To preach to the converted is recorded from 1867 (form preach to the choir attested from 1979).

Idioms and Phrases with preach

preach

In addition to the idiom beginning with preach

preach to the converted

also see:

practice what you preach