the pen is mightier than the sword

the pen is mightier than the sword

proverb Strong, eloquent, or well-crafted speech or writing is more influential on a greater number of people than force or violence. Through his hugely popular online campaign, the writer has harnessed the voices of millions of people to have the government stop its violent intervention in the region, proving that the pen truly is mightier than the sword.
See also: mighty, pen, sword
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

pen is mightier than the sword

Prov. Eloquent writing persuades people better than military force. Believing that the pen is mightier than the sword, the rebels began publishing an underground newspaper. Alan: Why do you want to become a journalist? Bill: The pen is mightier than the sword.
See also: mighty, pen, sword
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.

the pen is mightier than the sword

writing is more effective than military power or violence. proverb
See also: mighty, pen, sword
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

the ˌpen is ˌmightier than the ˈsword

(saying) people who write books, poems, etc. have a greater effect on history and human affairs than soldiers and wars
Mightier means ‘stronger’ or ‘more powerful’.
See also: mighty, pen, sword
Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary

pen is mightier than the sword, the

Writing is more powerful and effective than fighting. This adage appeared as a proverb in 1571 (“No more sword to be feared than the learned pen”) and then took a slightly different form in Robert Burton’s The Anatomy of Melancholy (1621): “The pen is worse than the sword.” It has quite naturally appealed to writers ever since. Time magazine (1990) used “The Pen Is Mightier” as a headline for a piece announcing that Poland had a journalist as its new prime minister, Czechoslovakia a playwright as president, and Hungary an English translator as president.
See also: mighty, pen
The Dictionary of Clichés by Christine Ammer
See also:
  • pen is mightier than the sword
  • pen is mightier than the sword, the
  • teach a man to fish
  • bigger they are, the harder they fall
  • bigger they come, the harder they fall, the
  • it takes a village
  • village
  • best-laid plans go astray, the
  • the best-laid plans
  • the best-laid plans of mice and men
References in periodicals archive
"The pen is mightier than the sword" would be a fitting epitaph to dear Michael, who was a personal friend for 50 years.
Letters: Splendid; Des Gleeson pays tribute to the late Michael Williams
This is a wake-up call for the Nigerian media to prove that truly, the pen is mightier than the sword by blighting and collapsing insurgents' propaganda against the Nigerian state.
Boko Haram: Time To Prove Pen Is Mightier Than Sword
Rasheed said she was not shot because of her campaign for education, and wrote: "You said the pen is mightier than the sword, so they attacked you for your sword not for your books or school."
TALIBAN'S LETTER TO SHOT MALALA
3 cartoons for the 1st anniversary of #Bahrain (unfinished) Revolution -- #FEB14 Cartoonists are the ultimate demonstrators of the fact that the pen is mightier than the sword. Indeed the 'Bahraini Spring' is at a bit of an uncertainty, but this cartoonist's works capture its spirits and ideas perfectly.
Bahrain's Revolution in Progess: Update on the Year Anniversary
A well deserved statue of one of our greatest poets and writers of the 20th century would grace Denbigh Library far more worthily, illustrating the proverb that the pen is mightier than the sword.
Honour Gwilym R; YOUR LETTERS TO THE NATIONAL NEWSPAPER OF WALES
TEENAGERS are to prove the pen is mightier than the sword.
Youngsters wanted for Kensington magazine
``They do say the pen is mightier than the sword anyway.''
Sir Cyril in fight against assembly
Yes, indeed, we have demonstrated once again the true power of the Press and that the pen is mightier than the sword. (I can't think of any more relevant cliches at the moment, but give me time).
A look at Barry: Action speaks louder
William Shakespeare proved that the pen is mightier than the sword yesterday when he pipped Winston Churchill to be voted personality of the millennium.
Millennium Man - not bard for a local lad
For, in answer to Savill's sabre-rattlings that bookmakers should make a bigger contribution to racing's coffers, the independents' umbrella group is ready to follow the maxim which suggests the pen is mightier than the sword. Cartoonist Mike Higgs has been employed by BBOA chairman Warwick Bartlett, having previously done the honours for the organisation with digs at SIS and the BHB race planners.
BOOKMAKERS PLAY THE JOKER CARD
Rasheed said she was not shot because of her campaign for education and wrote: "You said the pen is mightier than the sword, so they attacked you for your sword not for your books or school."
Taliban tells shot Malala of hit shock; LETTER
THEY say the pen is mightier than the sword. So how does that work in the digital age?
No bluffing - think like the people you want to reach
THE old adage "the pen is mightier than the sword" rang true many years ago but now the gun and the bomb has replaced the pen.
TIme to be fair
The Bible, possibly the greatest book ever written, first coined the phrase "the pen is mightier than the sword".
Irish Daily Mirror Comment: Let us write the wrong of adult illiteracy
AS the saying goes, the pen is mightier than the sword - but the printed word is harsher.
Ocean Colour Scene's missing spark; Review Ocean Colour Scene Cardiff University