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. 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
2. a serious speech, esp one administering reproof

Derived Forms

• sermonic, adjective

Other Words From

• sermon·less adjective

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of sermon¹

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

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.

From Washington Post

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

From Washington Post

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.

From Washington Post

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.

From MIT Technology Review

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.

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• advice
• exhortation
• homily
• lecture
• lesson
• preaching
• tirade