homilies

plural of homily
1
as in sermons
a public speech usually by a member of the clergy for the purpose of giving moral guidance or uplift last Sunday's homily was about being kind to your neighbors

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2
as in platitudes
an idea or expression that has been used by many people a TV movie filled with the usual hokey homilies about people triumphing over life's adversities

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of homilies Santa Teresa Deacon Steve Herrera in his homilies often mentions farmworkers and the need to integrate the Catholic faith with assisting them. — Eliana Aguilar, Mercury News, 7 July 2026 Cole’s canvases were synthetic constructions teeming with homilies. — Sebastian Smee, New Yorker, 4 May 2026 No lectures, no homilies, no empty words. — Lizz Schumer, PEOPLE, 26 Sep. 2025 In his fiery homilies, the Monsignor seems to target one new congregation member per week, pushing for the victory of a walkout. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for homilies
Noun
  • Bakker offered upbeat sermons and Tammy Faye, charismatic and always wearing her trademark heavy mascara, sang.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The show was based around chats with guests and Christian entertainers, with Bakker offering upbeat sermons and Tammy Faye singing.
    — Greg Norman-Diamond, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Noun
  • Hughes offered the usual interview platitudes and seemed to be pleased with how his team was playing.
    — Matt Reigle OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Because the story lines are facile fakes, because the characters are blanked out, the substance of relationships is reduced to dialogue of generalities and platitudes.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026
Noun
  • Well, ‘It’s been emotional’ has become one of the British icon sayings of movie history, which is fantastic.
    — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 3 Sep. 2026
  • As part of their annual Halloween decor drop, Anthropologie released Halloween bistro tile items that blend classic motifs and sayings with the Bistro Tile Collection’s Parisian style.
    — Claire Hoppe Norgaard, Better Homes & Gardens, 20 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • The president used similar bromides in private calls to assuage allies, including Steve Bannon and Tucker Carlson, before launching the war in February, according to people familiar with the conversations.
    — Vivian Salama, The Atlantic, 3 June 2026
  • While these songs might appear to be somewhat straightforward EBM that wear their politics on their latex sleeve, there’s a level of ambiguity at work that moves Kissing Luck Goodbye past its own bromides and into deeper artistic territory.
    — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 16 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The third film in director Éric Rohmer’s series Comedies and Proverbs, Pauline at the Beach explores the emotions (and delusions) around summer love.
    — Air Mail, Air Mail, 20 June 2026
  • In Indonesian folklore, durian also often appears in proverbs and riddles.
    — JSTOR Daily, JSTOR Daily, 25 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Then morning would come, with all the banalities that drew them apart.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Aug. 2026
  • And even though access to such banalities may sound brain-deadening, and at best dull, some of the most famous people in the world are now live-streamers.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 12 Aug. 2026
Noun
  • Spain’s success over the past five years has undermined many long-standing political-economic truisms.
    — Rogé Karma, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026
  • The play isn’t subtle; the final sequence leans hard on truisms about addiction and trauma, which are affecting but overly explicit.
    — Sheldon Pearce, New Yorker, 20 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The South London artist channels Disney soundtrack tropes into claustrophobic strings and drones, while a handful of vocal tracks hint darkly at real-world family drama.
    — Daniel Bromfield, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Rumiko Takahashi's Ranma 1/2 manga laid the groundwork for some of the genre's most enduring tropes (gender switching, horny old guys, tournaments), and this is the second anime adaptation, this time from Studio MAPPA.
    — K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 2 Oct. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Homilies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/homilies. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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