lip service

Verbal expression of agreement or allegiance, unsupported by real conviction or action; hypocritical respect: "Lip service continues to be paid to resolving regional conflicts, but there is no sense of urgency" (Henry A. Kissinger).

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

lip service

insincere support or respect expressed but not put into practice

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

lip′ serv`ice

insincere profession of friendship, admiration, support, etc.; service by words only.

lip′ serv`er, n.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun

lip service - an expression of agreement that is not supported by real conviction

hypocrisy

dissembling, feigning, pretense, pretence - pretending with intention to deceive

crocodile tears - a hypocritical display of sorrow; false or insincere weeping; "the secretaries wept crocodile tears over the manager's dilemma"; "politicians shed crocodile tears over the plight of the unemployed"

Translations

devozione finta

lip service

n to pay lip service to sth → essere favorevole a qc solo a parole
he pays lip service to environmentalism but ... → si professa ambientalista ma...

Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

Mentioned in

References in classic literature

O pay not a lip service to the gods And wrong them of their dues.

View in context

The PDP, while condoling Pa Fasoranti, charged the Inspector General of Police, Adamu Mohammed, to take immediate and decisive steps, 'beyond the lip service of the Buhari administration, to track down the killers without further delay and make them face the full wrath of the law, no matter who they are.'

PDP Condemns Killing Of Afenifere Leader's Daughter

'That's pure lip service! Ni ayaw nga pumirma ng waiver nung nabisto sya na may mahigit 2Bn (billion) pesos sa bangko,' the staunch Duterte critic said in a statement.

'Lip service': Trillanes hits Duterte request to lift bank secrecy

Lip service appears to be built-in into our election culture.

Lip service no more

New Delhi [India], June 29 ( ANI ): The AIMIM on Thursday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's statement on cow vigilantes as a 'mere lip service', adding atrocities in the name of 'Gau Bhakti' will continue as long as `Gau Rakshaks` get support from the BJP and RSS.

As long as `Gau Rakshaks` get BJP's support, violence will continue: AIMIM

Government is going on focusing on service sector and only paying lip service to manufacturing sector.

Govt paying mere 'lip service' to manufacturing sector: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

This is simply lip service from a Labour Party who have no intention of actually delivering."

THAT'S A LORD OF RUBBISH; Lib Dems rap Labour plans

We may pay lip service to being a Christian country.

Pagan forces; VOICE OF THE SUNDAY PEOPLE

ACTRESS Fiona Button, who played Tess Roberts in the BBC 3 lesbian drama Lip Service, is making her RSC debut as Wendy in the new Christmas production Wendy & Peter Pan.

Flying high with Peter

I recently created an online twitition via Twitter to petition BBC3 to recommission Lip Service for a third series.

Sapphic support

Urgent action, not lip service, is needed to ensure no other person dies in the same undignified way that Elaine passed away.

Learn from tragic death