What does ‘the pen is mightier than the sword’ mean?
To “the pen is mightier than the sword” means to persuasion and writing outweigh force. Brewer's attributes the modern phrasing to Edward Bulwer-Lytton's play Richelieu (1839).
Origin
- Brewer's attributes the modern phrasing to Edward Bulwer-Lytton's play Richelieu (1839).
How to use it
- Common in journalism and advocacy.
- Example: The exposé changed policy — the pen is mightier than the sword.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.