preach

P0505800 (prēch)v. preached, preach·ing, preach·es v.tr.1. To proclaim or put forth in a sermon: preached the gospel.2. To advocate, especially to urge acceptance of or compliance with: preached tolerance and peaceful coexistence.3. To deliver (a sermon).v.intr.1. To deliver a sermon.2. To give religious or moral instruction, especially in a tedious manner.Idiom: preach to the choir/converted To argue in favor of a viewpoint already held by one's audience.

[Middle English prechen, from Old French preechier, from Late Latin praedicāre, from Latin, to proclaim : prae-, pre- + dicāre, to proclaim; see deik- in Indo-European roots.]

preach′ing·ly adv.

preach

(priːtʃ) vb1. (Ecclesiastical Terms) to make known (religious truth) or give religious or moral instruction or exhortation in (sermons)2. to advocate (a virtue, action, etc), esp in a moralizing way[C13: from Old French prechier, from Church Latin praedicāre, from Latin: to proclaim in public; see predicate] ˈpreachable adj

preach

(pritʃ)

v.t. 1. to proclaim or make known in a sermon. 2. to deliver (a sermon). 3. to advocate (moral principles, conduct, etc.) as right or advisable. v.i. 4. to deliver a sermon. 5. to give earnest advice, esp. in an insistent, tedious, or moralizing way. [1175–1225; Middle English prechen < Old French pre(ë)chier < Late Latin praedicāre to preach, Latin: to assert publicly, proclaim. See predicate] preach′ing•ly, adv.

preach

Past participle: preached
Gerund: preaching

Imperative
preach
preach

Present
I preach
you preach
he/she/it preaches
we preach
you preach
they preach

Preterite
I preached
you preached
he/she/it preached
we preached
you preached
they preached

Present Continuous
I am preaching
you are preaching
he/she/it is preaching
we are preaching
you are preaching
they are preaching

Present Perfect
I have preached
you have preached
he/she/it has preached
we have preached
you have preached
they have preached

Past Continuous
I was preaching
you were preaching
he/she/it was preaching
we were preaching
you were preaching
they were preaching

Past Perfect
I had preached
you had preached
he/she/it had preached
we had preached
you had preached
they had preached

Future
I will preach
you will preach
he/she/it will preach
we will preach
you will preach
they will preach

Future Perfect
I will have preached
you will have preached
he/she/it will have preached
we will have preached
you will have preached
they will have preached

Future Continuous
I will be preaching
you will be preaching
he/she/it will be preaching
we will be preaching
you will be preaching
they will be preaching

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been preaching
you have been preaching
he/she/it has been preaching
we have been preaching
you have been preaching
they have been preaching

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been preaching
you will have been preaching
he/she/it will have been preaching
we will have been preaching
you will have been preaching
they will have been preaching

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been preaching
you had been preaching
he/she/it had been preaching
we had been preaching
you had been preaching
they had been preaching

Conditional
I would preach
you would preach
he/she/it would preach
we would preach
you would preach
they would preach

Past Conditional
I would have preached
you would have preached
he/she/it would have preached
we would have preached
you would have preached
they would have preached

Thesaurus

Verb	1.	preach - deliver a sermon; "The minister is not preaching this Sunday"prophesyevangelise, evangelize - preach the gospel (to)lecture, talk - deliver a lecture or talk; "She will talk at Rutgers next week"; "Did you ever lecture at Harvard?"
	2.	preach - speak, plead, or argue in favor of; "The doctor advocated a smoking ban in the entire house"advocateurge, urge on, exhort, press - force or impel in an indicated direction; "I urged him to finish his studies"preachify, sermonise, sermonize, moralise, moralize - speak as if delivering a sermon; express moral judgements; "This man always sermonizes"

preach

verb1. (often with to) deliver a sermon, address, exhort, evangelize, preach a sermon, orate The bishop preached to a huge crowd.2. proclaim, explain, teach, spread, propagate, disseminate, expound, make known a humble man who preaches the word of God3. urge, teach, champion, recommend, advise, counsel, advocate, exhort the movement preaches revolutionpreach at someone lecture, admonish, harangue, sermonize, moralize against, preachify I can't stand being preached at.

preach

verb1. To deliver a sermon, especially as a vocation:evangelize, sermonize.2. To indulge in moral reflection, usually pompously:moralize, sermonize.

Translations

劝诫布道说教

preach

(priːtʃ) verb1. to give a talk (called a sermon), usually during a religious service, about religious or moral matters. The vicar preached (a sermon) on/about pride. （宗教的）布道 2. to speak to someone as though giving a sermon. Don't preach at me!说教3. to advise. He preaches caution.劝诫ˈpreacher noun传道士

preach

preach to deaf ears

To present arguments to or attempt to persuade or advise those who have no inclination to change their opinion or belief. You're preaching to deaf ears if you think you can convince these kids to stay away from alcohol before they turn 21. Even though they know they're preaching to deaf ears, the hate group makes a point of holding protests outside churches and the funerals of slain soldiers.See also: deaf, ear, preach

preach to the choir

To try to convince someone about something that they already support; to state one's opinion to those who are already most receptive to it. You're preaching to the choir here—we all have kids and understand how busy life can get. Honestly, you're preaching to the choir, but I just don't have any money to donate.See also: choir, preach

preach to the converted

To try to convince someone about something that they already support; to state one's opinion to those who are already most receptive to it. You're preaching to the converted here—we all have kids and understand how busy life can get. Honestly, you're preaching to the converted, but I just don't have any money to donate.See also: convert, preach

practice what (one) preaches

To do the things or behave the way that one advises, dictates, or espouses. My parents always told us to respect each other and not to bicker, and they really did practice what they preached. If you're going to tell your employees not to incur excessive, unnecessary costs, then you had better practice what you preach.See also: practice, preach, what

be preaching to the converted

To be trying to convince someone about something that they already support or understand. You're preaching to the converted here—we all have kids and understand how busy life with kids is.See also: convert, preach

preach about (something)

1. To proclaim or lecture about something in a sermon. The priest preached about the sin of coveting other people's possessions. He was preaching about God's message of love and peace.2. To offer a stern, moralistic, typically condescending lecture about something. I wish you would stop preaching about being fiscally responsible, Dad. I get it. My mother always preaches about the dangers of drugs and drinking, so I've never wanted to try them.See also: preach

preach against (something)

To give a stern, forceful warning against something. The priest preached against coveting other people's possessions. My mother always preaches against drugs and drinking, so I've never wanted to try them.See also: preach

preach at (one)

To deliver a stern, moralistic lecture to one (about something). I wish you would stop preaching at me about my spending habits, Dad. The priest spends every Sunday preaching at us about the same old sins and vices.See also: preach

preach to (one)

1. To deliver a sermon to one. The priest loved preaching to his congregation and sharing the word of God with them.2. To deliver a firm moralistic lecture or discourse to one (about something). I wish you would stop preaching to me about my spending habits, Dad. The politician preached to his supporters of the need for new healthcare legislation.See also: preach

Practice what you preach.

Prov. Cliché You yourself should do the things you advise other people to do. Dad always told us we should only watch an hour of television every day, but we all knew he didn't practice what he preached.See also: practice, preach, what

preach about something

to give a moral or stern discourse on something. Please don't preach about the evils of fried food. I like the stuff, and people eat it all the time and don't die! She was preaching about the value of a fat-free diet.See also: preach

preach against someone or something

to exhort against someone or something. The evangelist preached against the operator of the town's only saloon. The principal kept preaching against drinking and drugs.See also: preach

preach at someone

to lecture or moralize at someone. Don't preach at me! I don't need any of your moralizing. I really don't wish to be preached at.See also: preach

preach to someone

to give a moral discourse to someone. Please don't preach to me. I know that I did wrong. When you preach to us like that, we don't pay any attention to you.See also: preach

preach to the choir

and preach to the convertedFig. to make one's case primarily to one's supporters; to make one's case only to those people who are present or who are already friendly to the issues. There is no need to convince us of the value of hard work. We already know that. You are just preaching to the choir. Don't waste your time telling us about the problem. That's preaching to the choir. Bob found himself preaching to the converted when he was telling Jane the advantages of living in the suburbs. She already hates city life.See also: choir, preach

practice what you preach

Behave as you would have others behave, as in You keep telling us to clean up, but I wish you'd practice what you preach. This idiom expresses an ancient idea but appeared in this precise form only in 1678. Also see do as I say. See also: practice, preach, what

preach to the converted

Try to convince someone who is already convinced, as in Why tell me smoking is bad when I gave it up years ago? You're preaching to the converted. [Mid-1800s] See also: convert, preach

be preaching to the converted

If someone is preaching to the converted, they are presenting an opinion or argument to people who already agree with them. You're wasting your time preaching to the converted. In any case the film was, by and large, preaching to the converted. Note: The converted are people who have converted, or changed their religious beliefs. Preaching is the activity of telling people about a religion. See also: convert, preach

practise what you preach

COMMON If you practise what you preach, you behave in the way that you encourage other people to behave. Note: The verb `practise' is spelled `practice' in American English. He practised what he preached, being more interested in moral values than money. I ought to be showing leadership and practise what I am preaching. Note: People sometimes vary this expression. The Bishop said the government had let the people down badly: it had preached love but practised hate.See also: practise, preach, what

practise what you preach

do what you advise others to do.See also: practise, preach, what

preach to the converted

advocate something to people who already share your convictions about its merits or importance.See also: convert, preach

ˌpractise what you ˈpreach

(saying) live or act the way you advise others to live or act: He’s always telling me to go on a diet, but he doesn’t practise what he preaches. He needs to lose weight too!See also: practise, preach, what

preach to the conˈverted

(American English also preach to the ˈchoir) tell people to support a view or an idea when they already support it: Why do they keep telling us about the importance of women in industry? They’re preaching to the converted here.See also: convert, preach

preach to the

choir/converted To argue in favor of a viewpoint already held by one's audience.See also: preach

practice what you preach

Do as you would have others do. The idea is an ancient one, expressed in somewhat different form in the Bible (Matthew 23:3): “They say and do not” (King James Version; the Revised Standard version changed it to “they preach but do not practice”). Repeated often over the centuries, it appears in Dickens’s Old Curiosity Shop (1840): “Divines do not always practice what they preach.” See also do as i say.See also: practice, preach, what

preach

preach

preach

preach

preach

preach

preach

preach

preach

preach to deaf ears

preach to the choir

preach to the converted

practice what (one) preaches

be preaching to the converted

preach about (something)

preach against (something)

preach at (one)

preach to (one)

Practice what you preach.

preach about something

preach against someone or something

preach at someone

preach to someone

preach to the choir

practice what you preach

preach to the converted

be preaching to the converted

practise what you preach

practise what you preach

preach to the converted

ˌpractise what you ˈpreach

preach to the conˈverted

preach to the

practice what you preach

preach

Synonyms for preach

verb deliver a sermon

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verb proclaim

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verb urge

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phrase preach at someone

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Synonyms for preach

verb to deliver a sermon, especially as a vocation

Synonyms

verb to indulge in moral reflection, usually pompously

Synonyms

Synonyms for preach

verb deliver a sermon

Synonyms

Related Words

verb speak, plead, or argue in favor of

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Related Words