lip service

lip service
noun
an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction
• Syn: ↑hypocrisy
• Derivationally related forms: ↑hypocritical (for: ↑hypocrisy)
• Hypernyms: ↑pretense, ↑pretence, ↑feigning, ↑dissembling
• Hyponyms: ↑crocodile tears

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noun
: service consisting only of avowed expressions of adherence, devotion, or allegiance : service by words but not by deeds

pay lip service to the principles of competitive business but … permit big business to deny access to scarce raw materials to independent businessmen — Henry Wallace

were … established as accepted religions provided their followers did lip service to the cult of the emperor — Brooke P. Church

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insincere expression of friendship, admiration, support, etc.; service by words only: He paid only lip service to the dictator.
[1635-45]

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lip service noun
1. Insincere praise or worship
2. Professed, not real, respect or loyalty
• • •
Main Entry: ↑lip

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lip service,
service with the lips or words only; insincere profession of devotion or good will.

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noun [noncount]
: support for someone or something that is expressed by someone in words but that is not shown in that person's actions

She paid/gave/offered lip service to blue-collar workers, but she did nothing to help them.

So far all we've gotten from him is lip service.

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ˈlip service [lip service] noun uncountable
if sb pays lip service to sth, they say that they approve of it or support it, without proving their support by what they actually do

•

All the parties pay lip service to environmental issues.


Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Lip service — is an idiom meaning minimal compliance only .Lip service may also refer to: * Lip Service (TV series) * Lip Service , a song by Elvis Costello from This Year s Model * Lip Service (game show), a game show aired in the 1990s on MTV * Lip Service …   Wikipedia

  • Lip service — Lip Lip (l[i^]p), n. [OE. lippe, AS. lippa; akin to D. lip, G. lippe, lefze, OHG. lefs, Dan. l[ae]be, Sw. l[ a]pp, L. labium, labrum. Cf. {Labial}.] 1. One of the two fleshy folds which surround the orifice of the mouth in man and many other… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • lip service — something proffered but not performed, 1640s, from LIP (Cf. lip) (n.) + SERVICE (Cf. service) (n.). Earlier in same sense was lip labour (1530s) …   Etymology dictionary

  • lip service — lip .service n pay lip service to sb/sth to say that you support or agree with something without doing anything to prove it ▪ organizations that pay lip service to career development …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • lip service — lip server. insincere expression of friendship, admiration, support, etc.; service by words only: He paid only lip service to the dictator. [1635 45] * * * …   Universalium

  • lip service — When people pay lip service to something, they express their respect, but they don t act on their words, so the respect is hollow and empty …   The small dictionary of idiomes

  • lip service — [n] empty talk duplicity, hollow words, insincerity, token agreement, tongue in cheek, unctuousness; concepts 267,542,545 …   New thesaurus

  • lip service — n. insincere expression of respect, loyalty, support, etc …   English World dictionary

  • Lip Service — Cette page d’homonymie répertorie les différents sujets et articles partageant un même nom. Cinéma Lip Service est une série télévisée produite par la BBC en 2010. Lip Service est une film de 2000 de Gail O Grady et Kari Wuhrer. Musique Lip… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • lip service —    When people pay lip service to something, they express their respect, but they don t act on their words, so the respect is hollow and empty.   (Dorking School Dictionary)    ***    If you pay lip service to an idea or cause, you give verbal… …   English Idioms & idiomatic expressions

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