as in proverb
an often stated observation regarding something from common experience
Benjamin Franklin's famous epigram, "Remember that time is money"
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Recent Examples of epigram
Throughout, Snook hams for laughs, turning Wilde’s witticisms and epigrams into slapstick.
—
Christian Lewis, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025
On his plane plastered with Trumpian epigrams, Vance makes the case for Trump’s second-term vision of enhanced executive power.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024
No one could tell the clock by him; no one could quote an epigram of his; no one could ever remember his being a friend of their daddy—or even their granddaddy.
—E. L. Doctorow, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024
Chevalier wrote that the idea for the reports had come from Oppenheimer, who helped to write them and even chose literary references for the epigrams.
—TIME, 8 Mar. 2024
One of the book's epigrams is from Amy Richlin of the University of California, Los Angeles, talking about her experience in the 1970s.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2023
An epigram for one of his chapters in The Real Anthony Fauci, a quote from C. S. Lewis, offers a hint: Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.
—Matthew Scully, National Review, 16 May 2023
An epigram by any other name .
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Unlike those, an epigram has a flash of pleasing humor in it.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Christian Lewis, Variety, 28 Mar. 2025
On his plane plastered with Trumpian epigrams, Vance makes the case for Trump’s second-term vision of enhanced executive power.
—Eric Cortellessa, TIME, 26 Sep. 2024
No one could tell the clock by him; no one could quote an epigram of his; no one could ever remember his being a friend of their daddy—or even their granddaddy.
—E. L. Doctorow, The New Yorker, 1 July 2024
Chevalier wrote that the idea for the reports had come from Oppenheimer, who helped to write them and even chose literary references for the epigrams.
—TIME, 8 Mar. 2024
One of the book's epigrams is from Amy Richlin of the University of California, Los Angeles, talking about her experience in the 1970s.
—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 8 Nov. 2023
An epigram for one of his chapters in The Real Anthony Fauci, a quote from C. S. Lewis, offers a hint: Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive.
—Matthew Scully, National Review, 16 May 2023
An epigram by any other name .
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Unlike those, an epigram has a flash of pleasing humor in it.
—Bryan A. Garner, National Review, 15 Sep. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for epigram
Noun
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But Bluey’s comforted when Calypso tells her a proverb about a farmer who trusts everything will turn out the way it’s meant to be.—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
26 Mar. 2025
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Whitaker nicknamed the place Sparrow Hall, a reference to a medieval saint’s proverb about a sparrow who flies over a royal banquet, feeling only a brief moment of warmth.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
17 Mar. 2025
Noun
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There is a saying among lawyers and crisis communications professionals: A coverup is often worse than the crime or crisis itself.—
Rick Pozniak,
Boston Herald,
1 Apr. 2025
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Diet As the saying goes, everything starts with your diet—and that includes bone health.—
Melanie Curry,
People.com,
1 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Unfortunately, the question of how much worth is placed on an Israeli life versus a Palestinian one is answered mostly in words, and thus, in too direct (and perhaps too didactic) a fashion, when so much of the movie’s drama could have grounded it emotionally.—
Siddhant Adlakha,
Variety,
11 Apr. 2025
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Stephen Graham is mulling over the right word to capture the past month of his life.—
Lily Ford,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Apparently, Eric Musselman (not unlike his crosstown rival) has never heard of Harry Truman’s aphorism about where the buck stops.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Mar. 2025
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Even so, virtually every one of its paragraphs contains a sensible and quotable aphorism.—
Christopher Bonanos,
Curbed,
11 Feb. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Epigram.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/epigram. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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