Read along with the three podcasts, or open the full dictionary entry for Sermon for the definition, Arabic meaning, synonyms and example sentences.
Narrator: Today's word is "Sermon" — noun, pronounced /ˈsɜːmən/, with the stress on "ser".
Narrator: A sermon is a talk on a religious or moral subject, usually given during a church service.
Narrator: In plain English, it is a preacher's talk.
Narrator: It comes from Latin sermo, speech.
Narrator: A common collocation is "preach a sermon", which describes giving one.
Narrator: It differs from "speech", because a sermon has a religious or moral message.
Narrator: In a second sense, informally, a sermon is a long, boring lecture about behaviour.
Narrator: Religion, history, literature and public speaking all rely on the word.
Narrator: So remember: a sermon teaches a lesson.
Speaker A: How was church?
Speaker B: A lovely SERMON on kindness! From Latin sermo, speech.
Speaker A: Long?
Speaker B: Twenty minutes.
Speaker A: Example sentences?
Speaker B: "The vicar's sermon was moving", church. "Spare me the sermon", teenage eye-rolling. "The Sermon on the Mount", scripture.
Speaker A: Common mistakes?
Speaker B: Say "preach a sermon" or "give a sermon", not "make a sermon".
Speaker A: Close relatives?
Speaker B: Homily is its cousin, address its twin, and lecture an alternative — yet sermon keeps its solemn charm!
Speaker B: Let's use "sermon" in AI prompts — useful for church websites and speech tone.
Speaker A: How for churches?
Speaker B: Podcasts.
Prompt: Write a podcast description for this week’s sermon on forgiveness.
Speaker A: And speeches?
Speaker B: Avoid preaching.
Prompt: Rewrite this team talk so it inspires without sounding like a sermon.
Speaker A: Could it help transcripts?
Speaker B: Yes, for summaries.
Prompt: Summarise this sermon transcript in five key points.
Speaker A: One more?
Speaker B: History.
Prompt: Explain the importance of the Sermon on the Mount in Christian teaching.
Sermon — meaning in Arabic & definition More S courses GL Dictionary