preach
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
to give a talk about religion or morals, usually in a church.
to deliver a sermon or religious discourse during a service or public gathering.
Simple“The priest began to preach about the importance of helping others.”
In context“The visiting minister was invited to preach at the cathedral, delivering a powerful message on social justice to the packed congregation.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'to' for the audience or 'about' for the topic.
Synonymssermonizeevangelize - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
to strongly recommend a way of behaving or a set of beliefs.
to advocate or recommend a particular quality, practice, or belief with great earnestness.
Simple“My parents always preached the value of hard work and honesty.”
In context“While the company leaders preach environmental sustainability in their public statements, their internal policies tell a different story.”
- 03 B2 Upper Intermediate
to give advice in a way that is annoying or makes you feel like you are being judged.
to offer moral advice or criticism in an obtrusive, self-righteous, or tedious manner.
Simple“I know I should exercise more, so please don't preach at me.”
In context“He had a tendency to preach at his colleagues whenever they disagreed with his lifestyle choices, which eventually alienated him from the team.”
UsageFrequently used with the preposition 'at' to indicate the target of the unwanted advice.
Synonymslecturemoralize
“Like the good son of the manse he is, Brown personally practises what he preaches in Kirkcaldy, where he is heavily engaged with local charities.”
“Dooley preaches qualifying for the Asian Cup (the Bangladesh men only have once in their history) or the World Cup is a process, but in the same breath he says “it can go fast”.”
From Middle English prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō (“to proclaim, announce”, literally “to fore-assign, pre-dedicate”). Doublet of predicate. The Latin word is also the source of Old English predician (“to preach”), Saterland Frisian preetje (“to preach”), West Frisian preekje (“to preach”), Dutch preken (“to preach”), German Low German preken (“to preach”), German predigen (“to preach”), Danish prædike (“to preach”), Swedish predika (“to preach”), Icelandic prédika (“to preach”), Norwegian Nynorsk preika (“to preach”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.