Dictionary

preachment en · NOUN

Etymology

Partly from preach + -ment, partly after Anglo-Norman prechement.

Meanings

1. (countable, qualifier:now chiefly depreciative, uncountable) Preaching; sermonizing.
   • I have a reason, a new one, for this preachment upon a text you have given me. 1748, [Samuel Richardson], “Letter LXVIII”, in Clarissa. Or, The History of a Young Lady: […], volume (please specify |volume=I to VII), London: […] S[amuel] Richardson; [a]nd sold by John Osborn, […], →OCLC:
   • He refrained too from making the occasion an opportunity for any preachment as to the maintenance of discipline […] 1888–1891, Herman Melville, “[Billy Budd, Foretopman.] Chapter [HTTP://GUTENBERG.NET.AU/EBOOKS06/0608511H.HTML 12].”, in Billy Budd and Other Stories, London: John Lehmann, published 1951, →OCLC:
2. (countable, uncountable) An instance of preaching; a sermon or homily.
   • Many of the emerging powerhouses of globalization, like Brazil, are interested in democracy and the rule of law, but not in the preachments of the West, which they regard as laced with hypocrisy. 2015 September 12, Steven Erlanger, “Are Western values losing their sway? [print version: Did liberalism win? It's not clear, International New York Times, 14 September 2015, p. 7]”, in The New York Times:

Forms