predigen

Meaning in English

predigen means to preach or to deliver a sermon, usually in a religious context (e.g., in a church). More broadly, it can also mean to preach at someone in the sense of lecturing them morally or promoting a doctrine/idea insistently.

• Religious sense: to preach; to give a sermon
• Figurative sense: to moralize; to lecture; to sermonize

Parts / word structure

predigen is a simple verb (not a separable prefix verb).
It is historically related to Latin praedicare (“to proclaim”).

• Verb stem: predig-
• Infinitive ending: -en

German synonyms

Religious / formal:

• eine Predigt halten
• verkünden (to proclaim, announce—often religious/solemn)
• (das Wort Gottes) verkünden

Figurative / critical (“preach at”):

• moralisieren
• belehren (to instruct/lecture)
• jemandem eine Standpauke halten (to scold/lecture strongly; more colloquial)

German antonyms (if applicable)

There is no single perfect opposite, but depending on meaning:

• schweigen (to be silent) — opposite of speaking/preaching
• verschweigen (to keep quiet about something)
• zuhören (to listen) — opposite role in communication
• For the “moralizing” sense: tolerieren, gelten lassen can be contrasting attitudes (to tolerate/accept rather than lecture), though not direct antonyms.