preach in the desert
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
To speak or express ideas to people who are not listening
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Nói hoặc thể hiện ý tưởng với những người không lắng nghe
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Literally: to preach in a desert
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Examples
He's preaching in the desert with his warnings about climate change
AI-drafted example auto-approved by rule (illustrative, not a corpus attestation)
Sources & notes
Listed in Wiktionary’s “English idioms” category (retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-31; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “preach in the desert” mean?
To speak or express ideas to people who are not listening Literally: to preach in a desert
Is “preach in the desert” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.