All words

sermonic

Meaning

Pertaining to or characteristic of a religious discourse delivered to a congregation.

Examples by difficulty

Basic: Simple, everyday vocabulary — the easiest to read.

His voice, usually quiet, took on a sermonic tone as he spoke of right and wrong. The sadness in his eyes made his words about doing good feel heavy, like a lesson everyone needed to hear.

The old miner leaned forward, his voice low and gravelly, not in a sermon, but with a similar serious, guiding tone. His words, almost sermonic in their measured delivery, warned the younger hands about the unstable shafts, a life lesson etched in coal dust and experience.

The old keeper’s voice, usually gruff with salty air, took on a surprisingly sermonic tone as he explained the lighthouse’s purpose. He spoke of guiding lost ships through storms, his words carrying a weight like the foghorn’s low moan.

My uncle's wedding speech was so long and boring, it felt like a religious discourse. He kept droning on and on, with a very sermonic tone, making everyone in the audience want to hide under the table.

The old gnome, Bartholomew, gave a surprisingly *sermonic* speech about the importance of perfectly ripened fungus. He held up a speckled mushroom, his eyes gleaming, and declared, "Each spore a tiny sermon of earthy goodness!" The gathered squirrels, mostly interested in the snack, just chattered.

Normal: Standard, everyday language.

The pastor's voice, usually so warm, took on a more sermonic tone as he addressed the congregation about the importance of honesty. He spoke with a quiet intensity, each word carrying the weight of his conviction, making it clear this wasn't just a casual chat.

He spoke with a weighty, almost sermonic tone, each word about the lost celestial navigation charts echoing with a grim finality that settled over the hushed bridge. The captain's voice, usually calm, now carried the weight of a prophet foretelling disaster.

The speaker's voice, usually booming with a sermonic authority that commanded attention during church services, now cracked with a raw, unvarnished grief. He stood before the sparse, somber gathering, the usual pronouncements replaced by a quiet, desperate plea for understanding.

My neighbor's dog, a fluffy menace, began barking with a surprisingly sermonic tone. It sounded like he was lecturing the squirrels on the sins of nut hoarding, each yap a tiny, self-righteous pronouncement. Honestly, the dog's sermonic delivery was more captivating than any actual church service I've endured.

The mayor's lengthy, sermonic address about the town's new squirrel-proofing ordinance had the audience fidgeting. He droned on about nut-hoarding anarchy and the fallen acorns of righteousness, sounding for all the world like he was delivering a fire-and-brimstone sermon on the perils of bushy tails.

Advanced: Richer vocabulary that stretches an upper-level reader.

The preacher’s tone grew grave, almost sermonic, as he spoke of responsibility. The congregation sat hushed, each person absorbing the weighty pronouncements with a solemnity that suggested they understood the profound, almost sacred, nature of his words.

The old blacksmith, his face etched with the soot of decades, leaned back against his anvil. His voice, usually rough and commanding, took on a deep, sermonistic tone as he spoke of the forge’s enduring spirit, each strike a lesson in resilience, each spark a testament to creation.

The elder’s voice, usually a low rumble, took on a sermonic cadence, each syllable echoing the injustice of the lost harvest. His pronouncements, filled with weary authority, felt less like a plea and more like a judgment on our collective failure. We listened, heads bowed, awaiting his final decree.

The new pastor's style was unexpectedly *sermonic*, not in a preachy way, but more like a stand-up comedian delivering a heartfelt monologue about the existential dread of finding matching socks. His delivery, filled with theatrical pauses and dramatic pronouncements on laundry mishaps, had the congregation both chuckling and questioning their life choices.

The intergalactic pickle salesman, Bartholomew "Barty" Brine, delivered a truly sermonic lecture on the existential angst of brine-soaked cucumbers to a bewildered assembly of sentient space fungi. His pronouncements, delivered with dramatic pauses and evangelical fervor, suggested that the ultimate purpose of fermentation was a profound, cosmic sigh.

Challenging: Rare, high-register vocabulary for serious word lovers.

His voice, resonating with a decidedly sermonic cadence, filled the cavernous hall. He spoke of devotion, of penitence, his pronouncements carrying a gravitas that compelled even the most disaffected souls to introspection, a palpable gravity born of spiritual conviction.

The elder’s voice, heavy with the weight of generations, adopted a familiar, sermonic cadence, each pronouncement echoing through the cavernous hall. He spoke not of abstract dogma, but of the stark realities of our isolation, his words a potent balm against the gnawing existential dread that plagued the colony.

The elder's voice, usually jovial and boisterous, took on a remarkably sermonic cadence as he recounted the plight of the displaced stellar cartographers. His pronouncements, heavy with gravity and a veiled lament for their lost celestial charts, resonated with a profound, almost sacred, conviction.

Brother Bartholomew's sermons, though ostensibly aimed at spiritual edification, often devolved into sprawling, almost operatic monologues that could induce a state of rapturous torpor. His pronouncements, delivered with a bombastic fervor, possessed a distinctly sermonic quality, yet his digressions into the geopolitical machinations of medieval duchies felt less divine guidance and more like a lengthy, verbose tangent designed to test the congregation's fortitude.

The vicar's unexpectedly *sermonic* discourse on the philosophical implications of competitive competitive pigeon racing left the congregation agog, their usual somnolent acquiescence morphing into bewildered contemplation of avian existentialism and the eschatological ramifications of a particularly fast fantail.

Difficulty

Challenging — Rare, high-register words for serious word lovers.

Appears in

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