saying synonyms

saying

modif.

mentioning, making clear, revealing, pointing out, giving out, remarking, noting, announcing, noticing, claiming, stating, affirming, maintaining, asserting, attesting to, certifying to, testifying to, alleging, informing, phrasing, stressing, demonstrating, averring, avouching, vouching, insisting on, publicizing, advertising, making public, swearing, implying, propounding, observing, drafting a proposition, making an announcement, making a statement, making a declaration.

go without saying

be obvious, be self-evident, need no justification.

saying

n.

aphorism, saw, adage, maxim, apothegm, epigram, gnome, byword, motto, proverb, precept, dictum.

saying is the simple, direct term for any pithy expression of wisdom or truth; a saw is an old, homely saying that is well worn by repetition the preacher filled his sermon with wise saws; a maxim is a general principle drawn from practical experience and serving as a rule of conduct (Ex.: ""Keep thy shop and thy shop will keep thee''); an adage is a saying that has been popularly accepted over a long period of time (Ex.: ""Where there's smoke, there's fire''); a proverb is a piece of practical wisdom expressed in homely, concrete terms (Ex.: ""A penny saved is a penny earned''); a motto is a maxim chosen to express a guiding principle or goal of a nation, group, etc. (Ex.: ""E pluribus unum'') or accepted as an ideal of behavior (Ex.: ""Honesty is the best policy''); an aphorism is a terse saying embodying a general, more or less profound truth or principle (Ex.: ""He is a fool that cannot conceal his wisdom''); an epigram is a terse, witty, pointed statement that often gains its effect by ingenious antithesis (Ex.: ""The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it'')

Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.