Definition of APHORISMS (original) (raw)
1
: a concise statement of a principle
2
: a terse formulation of a truth or sentiment : adage
the high-minded aphorism, "Let us value the quality of life, not the quantity"
3
: an ingeniously terse style of expression : aphoristic language
These are dazzling chapters, packed with perfectly chosen anecdotes and pithy with aphorism.—
John Keegan
Did you know?
Aphorism was originally used in the world of medicine. Credit Hippocrates, the Greek physician regarded as the father of modern medicine, with influencing our use of the word. He used aphorismos (a Greek ancestor of aphorism meaning "definition" or "aphorism") in titling a book outlining his principles on the diagnosis and treatment of disease. That volume offered many examples that helped to define aphorism, beginning with the statement that starts the book's introduction: "Life is short, Art long, Occasion sudden and dangerous, Experience deceitful, and Judgment difficult." English speakers originally used the term mainly in the realm of the physical sciences but eventually broadened its use to cover principles in other fields.
Synonyms
Examples of aphorism in a Sentence
Confronted by a broadminded, witty, and tolerant cosmopolitan, for whom the infinite varieties of human custom offered a source of inexhaustible fascination, Thucydides presented himself as a humorless nationalist, an intellectual given to political aphorisms and abstract generalizations. —Peter Green, New York Review of Books, 15 May 2008 It doesn't take long to learn that a lie always unravels and that it always ends up making you feel royally cruddy. "Do the kind of work during the day that allows you to sleep at night" was an aphorism my grandfather was fond of. —Amy Krouse Rosenthal, Newsweek, 6 Mar. 2006 The Sun twice went into journalism legend. Its city editor John Bogart is generally credited with the aphorism "When a dog bites a man, that's not news. But when a man bites a dog, that's news." And the paper delivered America's most treasured editorial in 1897, when a young girl, whose playmates had told her there was no Santa Claus, wrote and asked the Sun to tell her the truth. —Peter Andrews, American Heritage, October 1994 Truman is remembered as much today for his aphorisms as his policies: "The buck stops here," "If you can't stand the heat stay out of the kitchen," and the like. Such slogans are endearing in a time of plastic politicians who make a career of ducking responsibilities … —Ronald Steel, New Republic, 10 Aug. 1992
When decorating, remember the familiar aphorism, “less is more.” what does the aphorism “Hindsight is 20/20” mean?
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
With that aphorism in mind, here are some thoughts about the 2024 election and its likely impact on tax policy. —Joseph Thorndike, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024 Hong’s characters deliver sharp dialogue that blends piercing confessions and resonant aphorisms, and his lyrical cinematography, encompassing many sequences of nature (including scenes indeed set by the stream), makes all the world their stage. —Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2024 Despentes offers no quarter to her titular hero, whose dark wit and casually racist rants come at the reader in a mad rush of metaphors and aphorisms, Despentes’s gutter vernacular of the underclass. —Marc Weingarten, The Atlantic, 23 Sep. 2024 Such revelations, which Jensen calls aphorisms, get recorded during each voyager’s trip in a living book of people’s Scripture. —Cassady Rosenblum, Rolling Stone, 18 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for aphorism 
Word History
Etymology
Middle French aphorisme, from Late Latin aphorismus, from Greek aphorismos definition, aphorism, from aphorizein to define, from apo- + horizein to bound — more at horizon
First Known Use
1528, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of aphorism was in 1528
Dictionary Entries Near aphorism
Cite this Entry
“Aphorism.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aphorism. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.
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Last Updated: 17 Nov 2024 - Updated example sentences
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