apophthegm

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The soul of Sir Thomas Gourlay writhed within him like a wounded serpent, at the calm but noble truth contained in this apophthegm.

From The Black Baronet; or, The Chronicles Of Ballytrain The Works of William Carleton, Volume One by Carleton, William

Between a maxim, an aphorism, and an apophthegm, and in a more obvious degree, between these and an adage and a proverb, the etymologist and the lexicographer may easily find a distinction.

From Maxims and Reflections by Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von

Faint heart never won fair lady, he said to himself, in some answering apophthegm.

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 14, No. 84, October, 1864 by Various

The perverseness of mankind makes it often mischievous 37in men of eminence to give way to merriment; the idle and the illiterate will long shelter themselves under this foolish apophthegm.

From The Works of Samuel Johnson, LL.D. in Nine Volumes Volume the Eighth: The Lives of the Poets, Volume II by Johnson, Samuel

Another perfect thing from this diverting piece, followed also by Homeric cachinnations, was the mock-serious apophthegm: "If a cloud is going to support a lady of substantial proportions, you must make it fairly solid."

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 152, May 23, 1917 by Various