as in to speak
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject
the naturalist is known for her willingness to expatiate on any number of issues relating to wildlife and the environment
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Recent Examples of expatiate
There was no debate on education, for instance, the subject on which Cash had been most keen to expatiate; indeed, there were no debates at all.
—
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 25 July 2024
Ostensibly, further studies are encouraged to expatiate this understanding.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2024
Ostensibly, further studies are encouraged to expatiate this understanding.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2022
With wit and elan to spare, Greene expatiates on the intrigue that ensues when David Sparsholt, an engineering student with a fiancée, Connie, and a plan to join the Royal Air Force, arrives at Oxford in 1940.
—Priscilla Gilman, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Mar. 2018
Alex Tizon’s essay can be read not simply as an attempt to confess a crime and expatiate his family’s guilt.
—Jean M. Twenge, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2017
Tizon’s essay can be read not simply as an attempt to confess a crime and expatiate his family’s guilt.
—Vicente Rafael, The Atlantic, 31 May 2017
Anthony Lane, The New Yorker, 25 July 2024
Ostensibly, further studies are encouraged to expatiate this understanding.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 7 Jan. 2024
Ostensibly, further studies are encouraged to expatiate this understanding.
—Amber Smith, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2022
With wit and elan to spare, Greene expatiates on the intrigue that ensues when David Sparsholt, an engineering student with a fiancée, Connie, and a plan to join the Royal Air Force, arrives at Oxford in 1940.
—Priscilla Gilman, BostonGlobe.com, 9 Mar. 2018
Alex Tizon’s essay can be read not simply as an attempt to confess a crime and expatiate his family’s guilt.
—Jean M. Twenge, The Atlantic, 8 Aug. 2017
Tizon’s essay can be read not simply as an attempt to confess a crime and expatiate his family’s guilt.
—Vicente Rafael, The Atlantic, 31 May 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expatiate
Verb
-
Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Texas coach Steve Sarkisian spoke earlier that day in Atlanta’s College Football Hall of Fame about their recruiting philosophies in the age of player revenue sharing and schools allocating a big chunk of that $20.5 million to football.—
Marc Weiszer,
The Tennessean,
22 July 2025
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And yet there is still beauty to witness; there are words to be spoken; there are people to be reminded.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
21 July 2025
Verb
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Gavin could learn something to benefit Californians rather than lecturing Americans 3,000 miles away.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
9 July 2025
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Amy Lieberman, a politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Lincoln Mitchell, a political strategy and campaign specialist who lectures at Columbia University, to understand what Mamdani’s primary win might indicate about the direction of national politics.—
Lincoln Mitchell,
The Conversation,
27 June 2025
Verb
-
Not talking an exceptionally high level; not the top-shelf stuff.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Oc Register,
14 July 2025
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General manager Rob Pelinka of the Los Angeles Lakers talks with media during a press conference at Staples Center on August 10, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Expatiate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expatiate. Accessed 25 Jul. 2025.
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