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sermonize

[sur-muh-nahyz]
See more synonyms for sermonize on Thesaurus.com
verb (used without object), ser·mon·ized, ser·mon·iz·ing.
  1. to deliver or compose a sermon; preach.
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verb (used with object), ser·mon·ized, ser·mon·iz·ing.
  1. to give exhortation to; lecture.
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Also especially British, ser·mon·ise.

Origin of sermonize

First recorded in 1625–35; sermon + -ize
Related formsser·mon·iz·er, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for sermonize

Historical Examples

  • It did not seem to her worth while to censure or to sermonize.

    At His Gates, Vol. 1(of 3)

    Margaret Oliphant

  • There was not an island of the sea in which he could lift up his voice and sermonize; Mrs. Eddy's command covered "this" planet.

  • He does not sermonize to them, he does not attack them or their enemies; he merely speaks to them as their friend.

  • Dear Alan, it tires me more to sermonize, than it bores you to be forced to listen; but what would you have?

    Barren Honour: A Novel

    George A. Lawrence

  • Mrs. Eddy was very wise in not allowing her "readers" or followers to sermonize or explain her writings.

British Dictionary definitions for sermonize

sermonize

sermonise

verb
  1. to talk to or address (a person or audience) as if delivering a sermon
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Derived Formssermonizer or sermoniser, noun
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 sermonize

v.

1630s, from Medieval Latin sermonizari, from Latin sermo (see sermon). "Chiefly depreciatory" [OED]. Related: Sermonizing.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper