Definition of sermon noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

sermon

noun

/ˈsɜːmən/

/ˈsɜːrmən/

a talk on a moral or religious subject, usually given by a religious leader during a service
- She preached a sermon on forgiveness.
Synonyms speech
speechlecture ▪ address ▪ talk ▪ sermonThese are all words for a talk given to an audience.
speech a formal talk given to an audience:
Several people made speeches at the wedding.
lecture a talk given to a group of people to tell them about a particular subject, often as part of a university or college course:
a lecture on the Roman army
a course/series of lectures
address a formal speech given to an audience:
a televised presidential address
speech or address?A speech can be given on a public or private occasion; an address is always public: He gave an address at the wedding.
talk a fairly informal session in which somebody tells a group of people about a subject:
She gave an interesting talk on her visit to China.
sermon a talk on a moral or religious subject, usually given by a religious leader during a service:
to preach a sermon
Patterns
- a long/short speech/lecture/address/talk/sermon
- a keynote speech/lecture/address
- to write/prepare/give/deliver/hear a(n) speech/lecture/address/talk/sermon
- to attend/go to a lecture/talk
Collocations Religion
ReligionBeing religious
- believe in God/Christ/Allah/free will/predestination/heaven and hell/an afterlife/reincarnation
- be/become a believer/an atheist/an agnostic/a Christian/Muslim/Hindu/Buddhist, etc.
- convert to/practise a religion/Buddhism/Catholicism/Christianity/Islam/Judaism, etc.
- go to church/(North American English) temple (= the synagogue)
- go to the local church/mosque/synagogue/gurdwara
- belong to a church/a religious community
- join/enter the church/a convent/a monastery/a religious sect/the clergy/the priesthood
- praise/worship/obey/serve/glorify God
Celebrations and ritual
- attend/hold/conduct/lead a service
- perform a ceremony/a rite/a ritual/a baptism/the Hajj/a mitzvah
- carry out/perform a sacred/burial/funeral/fertility/purification rite
- go on/make a pilgrimage
- celebrate Christmas/Easter/Eid/Ramadan/Hanukkah/Passover/Diwali
- observe/break the Sabbath/a fast/Ramadan
- deliver/preach/hear a sermon
- lead/address the congregation
- say/recite a prayer/blessing
Religious texts and ideas
- preach/proclaim/spread the word of God/the Gospel/the message of Islam
- study/follow the dharma/the teachings of Buddha
- read/study/understand/interpret scripture/the Bible/the Koran/the gospel/the Torah
- be based on/derive from divine revelation
- commit/consider something heresy/sacrilege
Religious belief and experience
- seek/find/gain enlightenment/wisdom
- strengthen/lose your faith
- keep/practise/practice/abandon the faith
- save/purify/lose your soul
- obey/follow/keep/break/violate a commandment/Islamic law/Jewish law
- be/accept/do God’s will
- receive/experience divine grace
- achieve/attain enlightenment/salvation/nirvana
- undergo a conversion/rebirth/reincarnation
- hear/answer a prayer
- commit/confess/forgive a sin
- do/perform penance
Extra Examples
- He gave a long sermon against abortion.
- He preached a long sermon against the war.
Topics Religion and festivalsc2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- fiery
- weekly
- long
- …
verb + sermon
- deliver
- give
- preach
- …
preposition
- during a/the sermon
- in a/the sermon
- sermon on
- …
See full entry
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(informal, usually disapproving) moral advice that a person tries to give you in a long talk
- We had to listen to a long sermon on the evils of wasting time.
Topics Suggestions and advicec2

Word OriginMiddle English (also in the sense ‘speech, discourse’): from Old French, from Latin sermo(n-) ‘discourse, talk’.

See sermon in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee sermon in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

Check pronunciation: sermon

Nearby words

influence

verb

From the Word list

OPAL spoken words

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