Skip to content

sermonner

to lecture

verb ser-mo-NEH Rare

Also means

to sermonize

Usage Note

Sermonner means to repeatedly lecture or moralize at someone, and carries a mildly negative connotation — it implies the speaker is being tedious or self-righteous. It is more informal than faire la morale but conveys much the same idea. The noun sermon is shared with English.

Examples

"Elle n'arrête pas de sermonner ses enfants."

Natural Translation

She never stops lecturing her children.

Free starter pack

Building your French vocabulary?

Get the 100 most common French words as a free PDF — one email, no spam.

Explore French by topic