as in ranting
disapproving
to speak or express your opinion about something in a way that shows that you think you are always right
We had to listen to her pontificate about the best way to raise children.
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as in hifalutin
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Dissimilar Words
as in moralizing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of pontificating
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
Adjective
If all that is a little too cerebral, viewers can wait out the pontificating until the next performance comes along.
—Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
Noun
Rather than the writer pontificating about how Pfleger needs to retire from active priesthood, how about a better use of his time by advocating the notion that pedophile priests should be retired to jail.
—Chicago Tribune, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pontificating
Verb
-
Some of these people are ranting and raving, threatening violence against strangers or exhibiting tendencies to hurt themselves, others are quietly living in filth or unclothed or unshod in frigid temperatures.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
18 Aug. 2025
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At another time, a perpetually anxious comedian who can’t keep from ranting about his paranoid worries about the end of the world probably would not feel like such a helpful guide to life.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
6 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Now, imagine a similar top with the capri trousers fashion editors and trendsetters can't stop raving about.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
1 Sep. 2025
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Goodreads users can't stop raving about these hot new books that will hit shelves this fall, so add them to your own TBR pile then join the conversation online.—
Lizz Schumer,
People.com,
24 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Klára works at a grocery store formerly owned by the family of her colleague Elza (Hermina Fátyol) but now taken over by a supercilious Stalinist (Konrád Quintus) who doesn’t bother hiding his disdain for the two Jewish women.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
28 Aug. 2025
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The plot revolves around the attempts of various parties to get a hold of a Lakota ghost shirt that has come into the possession of a supercilious business tycoon and acquirer of rare artifacts, Pendleton Duvall (Toby Huss).—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
22 Aug. 2025
Noun
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According to a release, at the center of the memorial is a slightly larger than life size bronze of King preaching, in a welcoming gesture.—
Hailey Roden,
The Enquirer,
14 Aug. 2025
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Boys Go to Jupiter captures an adolescent malaise without talking down to its teens — there is no preaching about real jobs, responsibilities, or five-year plans.—
Fran Hoepfner,
Vulture,
14 Aug. 2025
Adjective
-
Embarking on the Ofoten line at Bjørnfjell, the train ran at the edge of a cliff as the fjords emerged below, magisterial in their quiet movement.—
The Editors,
Outside,
31 Aug. 2025
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The most recent of these, Wildcat Dome, originally published in Japan in 2013 and newly translated by Lisa Hofmann-Kuroda, is an ambitious, at times magisterial, epic.—
Katie Kitamura,
Harpers Magazine,
16 July 2025
Noun
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At an early lecture of Alaoui’s, one silent member of the audience seems unusually intent on his words.—
Jessica Kiang,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
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Each lecture in the series is free for Birch Aquarium members and $12 for non-members.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
1 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The sprawling roughly 2,000-year-old property includes ancient Roman archaeological sites, farmlands, pontifical villas and lush papal gardens, with areas for organic farming and regenerative cultivation.—
Angie Leventis Lourgos,
Chicago Tribune,
5 Sep. 2025
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Related Articles For the past 40-plus years in the Philippines, Natori’s mother Angelita Cruz has been very close to the nuncios (who act as pontifical ambassadors), the designer said.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
18 June 2025
Noun
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Houry and Daskalakis told The Associated Press that Monarez had tried to guard against political meddling in scientific research and health recommendations.—
Mike Stobbe,
Chicago Tribune,
28 Aug. 2025
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Economic Risks Perceived political meddling could steepen the yield curve, pushing long-term rates higher and nullifying any short-term rate cuts the Fed might enact—whether voluntarily or under duress.—
Dan Irvine,
Forbes.com,
26 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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