Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
lip service ExamplesWord Origin See more synonyms for lip service on Thesaurus.com noun
- insincere expression of friendship, admiration, support, etc.; service by words only: He paid only lip service to the dictator.
Origin of lip service First recorded in 1635–45 Related formslip server, noun Related Words for lip service duplicity, hypocrisy, insincerity, lie, sham, jive, mouthing, tokenism Examples from the Web for lip service Contemporary Examples of lip service
Johnson called it “not much more than lip-service to his pledge to begin withdrawing by this summer.”
Jill Lawrence
July 1, 2011
Historical Examples of lip service
There is no lack of lip-service to the sea-creed in these islands.
Francis Dodd
Vain will be your lip-service; vain your cold, heartless offerings.
Edward E. Seelye
Yet there was a distinguishing, cordial charm in his courtesy; it was not all lip-service.
Clement Wood
They may render it lip-service, but that is quite another thing.
Herbert George Wells
All my service of God there was lip-service: why did I, having the opportunity of living in greater perfection, neglect it?
The Life of St. Teresa of Jesus
Teresa of Avila
British Dictionary definitions for lip service lip service noun
- insincere support or respect expressed but not put into practice
Word Origin and History for lip service n.
“something proffered but not performed,” 1640s, from lip (n.) + service (n.1). Earlier in same sense was lip-labour (1530s).
lip service in Culture lip service
Insincere agreement; to “pay lip service” is to consent in one’s words while dissenting in one’s heart: “The boss’s support of affirmative action was merely paying lip service; he never committed himself to it in any substantial way.”
Idioms and Phrases with lip service lip service
Verbal but insincere expression of agreement or support. It is often put as pay or give lip service, as in They paid lip service to holding an election next year, but they had no intention of doing so. [Mid-1600s]