maxim
Brief guiding principle
A maxim is a concise statement expressing a general truth or rule of conduct: Live and let live, Neither a borrower nor a lender be.
Maxims tend toward the practical and advisory, offering guidance rather than mere observation.
The word overlaps with proverb, adage, and aphorism, though maxims often carry a prescriptive edge.
His maxim was to never go to bed angry. (Capitalized Maxim is a given name or surname.)
Traditional saying expressing truth
- aphorismTerse general truth
- adageTraditional pithy truth
- dictumAuthoritative formal statement
- axiomSelf-evident starting principle
precept · epigram · apothegm · motto · truism · byword · saw · mantra
Traditional saying expressing truth
- folk wisdomTraditional communal knowledge
- old sayingTime-tested expression of wisdom
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
- loreTraditional knowledge transmitted orally
chestnut · fable · parable · folk belief · ancestral wisdom
Fundamental truth or standard
- ruleGoverning principle or standard
- tenetHeld principle or doctrine
- codeSymbolic communication system
- ethicMoral guiding principle
guideline · standard · precept · doctrine · canon · commandment · injunction · teaching
Deep perceptive understanding
- sagacityPenetrating mental acuity
- prudenceCareful, wise judgment
- truthAccordance with reality
- philosophyStudy of fundamental truths
discernment · judgment · understanding · foresight · acumen · sapience · enlightenment · counsel
Expressed with minimal words
- terseBrief to bluntness
- pithyConcise and forceful
- conciseBriefly and clearly stated
- laconicBrief in expression
epigrammatic · pointed · compact · gnomic · sententious · aphoristic · quotable · memorable
proverb
Traditional saying expressing truth
axiom · precept · epigram · apothegm · motto · truism · byword · saw · mantra · platitude
proverb
Traditional saying expressing truth
- folk wisdomTraditional communal knowledge
- old sayingTime-tested expression of wisdom
- oral traditionCulture passed by speech
lore · chestnut · fable · parable · folk belief · ancestral wisdom
principle
Fundamental truth or standard
ethic · guideline · standard · precept · doctrine · canon · commandment · injunction · teaching · decree
insight
Deep perceptive understanding
philosophy · discernment · judgment · understanding · foresight · acumen · sapience · enlightenment · counsel · sage advice
succinct
Expressed with minimal words
laconic · epigrammatic · pointed · compact · gnomic · sententious · aphoristic · quotable · memorable · economical
- proverbsproverbs, sayings, adages, aphorisms, proverb
- writingsessay, essays, article, articles, stories
- brevitybrevity, concise, succinct, terse, pithy
- expressionsexpression, I love you, phrase, idioms, thank you
- folk sayingsproverb, adage, folk saying, old saying, traditional saying
- folk wisdomproverb, folklore, folk sayings, saying, proverbs
maximdigression
Veering off topic
circumlocution · dissertation · treatise · diatribe · tome
maximexception
Deviation from standard
anomaly · special case · counterexample · anecdote · qualification
- maximum securityHighest-level prison classification
- maximum speedHighest attainable velocity
- maximum capacityUpper limit of containment
- maximum sentenceLongest term a judge can impose
- maximum-security prisonHighest-level detention facility
- maximum effort
maximum, maximize, maximal, maximally, maxims, maximizer, maximization, maximizing, maximized