1
as in lecturing
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject
the eminent professor harangued for three hours on his favorite subject, the clash of East and West
Synonyms & Similar Words
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2
as in speaking
to talk as if giving an important and formal speech
a talk-show guest using the interviewer's questions as an opportunity to harangue on a variety of pet peeves
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of haranguing
That entanglement allowed Biden to traverse the country haranguing business on equity, climate, daycare, union labor, and other whole-of-government crusades—while taunting Republicans who relented for the sake of home-district dollars.
—
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Tuesday’s report is likely to be viewed favorably by the president, who has spent the past months haranguing Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2025
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Tuesday’s report is likely to be viewed favorably by the president, who has spent the past months haranguing Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haranguing
Verb
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Since exiting Dries Van Noten a few years ago, Scallon has been working as an independent consultant and mentor in fashion communications strategy, also lecturing occasionally and sharing his views about creative content on podcasts.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
25 Sep. 2025
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The same woman Don had been lecturing about beer.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Stewardship speaking, the organization’s total water usage, across its operations and value chain, dropped 32 percent against the 2020 baseline—some 12 percent above and beyond the 20 percent reduction goal.—
Alexandra Harrell,
Sourcing Journal,
2 Oct. 2025
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Dolphins cornerbacks have played well Even though Rasul Douglas, Jack Jones and Cornell Armstrong all signed during training camp, as opposed to the offseason or early last summer, Miami’s new starting trio has been played well, relatively speaking.—
Omar Kelly
October 2,
Miami Herald,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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These parables sometimes read like gibberish, talking both down and up to the reader.—
Book Marks
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
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And its representatives are talking a big game about making the country a wellspring of world-class AI companies.—
Phil Wahba,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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TikTok user @shotmyheartwithnovacaine posted a video in July ranting about how people dress when going to concerts to her 137K followers.—
Laney Crawley,
PEOPLE,
20 Sep. 2025
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An alienated professor takes up weight lifting and ranting in Jordan Castro’s perceptive new novel, Muscle Man.—
Jeremy Gordon,
The Atlantic,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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DeBoer and his staff spent the offseason preaching the importance of sustaining everything — every game, every drive, every play.—
Matt Baker,
New York Times,
28 Sep. 2025
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Franklin, who is also a minister, was inspired to tell this particular Bible story after preaching a sermon series on singleness and relationships.—
Giana Levy,
Variety,
27 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Haranguing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haranguing. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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