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
  • The decision sparked widespread public debate, with students, teachers and even some astronomers objecting to the change, Smithsonian Magazine notes.
    — Anthony Thompson, USA Today, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Miller continued objecting as several people moved to remove him from the meeting room.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 18 Aug. 2026
Definition of objecting
Verb
  • Fire survivors heavily criticized his proposal, even protesting outside the governor's mansion in Sacramento last week.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Lander, who is Jewish, attended a rally Saturday outside Madison Square Garden protesting the Hindu nationalist group Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and its leader, Mohan Bhagwat, who was speaking at the venue.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of protesting
Verb
  • The sport is now on TV every night of the week these days—and unlike some traditionalists, football-loving families aren’t complaining.
    — Beth Ann Mayer, Parents, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Even before the eighth inning on Sunday, Flemming spent a great deal of time complaining on the WEEI broadcast.
    — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 31 Aug. 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 3 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke
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
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All