expostulating

verb

present participle of expostulate
as in objecting
to present an opposing opinion or argument the concerned parents tried to expostulate with their daughter when she announced her intention to live on her own in New York City

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for expostulating
  1. objecting
  2. protesting
  3. complaining
Verb
  • Wheeler, Fowler, and others previously signed a letter objecting to the ABC investigation.
    — Jon Brodkin, ArsTechnica, 21 Oct. 2026
  • In a filing in federal court Monday, the BBC legal team noted that Smith is not objecting to the subpoena.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of objecting
Verb
  • The state mandated that these policies be strengthened after large rallies and encampments protesting the ongoing war in Gaza swept through universities in 2024.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • High school and university students are demanding lower tuition fees, greater state investment in education and protesting corruption in the education system.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of protesting
Verb
  • That March, a seventy-year-old patient from a wealthy Cypriot family, Evie Lanitis, arrived at BioMed, complaining of a host of minor maladies, including bursitis in her toes, dental pain, and digestive issues.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • This was the first opportunity, Ubovic said, to do something tangible, instead of just complaining.
    — Chris Massaro, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of complaining
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

expostulates
expostulating
expostulation
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Expostulating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expostulating. Accessed 29 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of shindig

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All