the pen is mightier than the sword
the pen is mightier than the sword proverb: more influence and power can be usurped by writing than by fighting.
Proverb
the pen is mightier than the sword
- More influence and power can be usurped by writing than by fighting.
- If the pen is mightier than the sword in American history, it is more likely the pen of a novelist than the typewriter of a reporter — Harriet Beecher Stowe stimulating antislavery sentiment or Upton Sinclair enlisting citizens in outrage against the food-processing industry.1982, Michael Schudson, The Power of News, Harvard University Press, →ISBN, page 142
- If my teachers had not told me that the pen is mightier than the sword, if my parents had not told me that I have to respect books, I would not have developed that respect for knowledge.2011, Qazi Nasir Uddin, Ph.D., The Other Side, Author House, page 108
the pen is mightier than the sword meaning in Telugu, Thai and Myanmar
the pen is mightier than the sword in Telugu
- more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
- కత్తి కన్నా కలం మిన్న katti kannā kalaṁ minna
the pen is mightier than the sword in Thai
- more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
- ปากกาคมกว่าดาบ bpàak-gaa-kom-gwàa-dàap
the pen is mightier than the sword in Myanmar
- more power can be usurped by writing than fighting
- ဓားသွားထက် ကလောင်သွားထက် dha:swa:htak ka.laungswa:htak
Antonyms of the pen is mightier than the sword
Origin of the pen is mightier than the sword
This phrasing due to Bulwer-Lytton, 1839. The sentiment is traditional, and has many antecedents; see Wikipedia.
Questions about the pen is mightier than the sword
- What does the pen is mightier than the sword mean?
- The pen is mightier than the sword means more influence and power can be usurped by writing than by fighting.
- What is the pen is mightier than the sword in Telugu?
- The pen is mightier than the sword in Telugu is కత్తి కన్నా కలం మిన్న (katti kannā kalaṁ minna). See The pen is mightier than the sword meaning in Telugu.
- What part of speech is the pen is mightier than the sword?
- The pen is mightier than the sword is a proverb.
Words near the pen is mightier than the sword in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: the pen is mightier than the sword (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-au-the pen is mightier than the sword.ogg.
Cite this entry: “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/the_pen_is_mightier_than_the_sword. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.