as in supercilious
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as in preaching
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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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Recent Examples of pontificating
Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
Pamela Chelin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
In the 1960s, Canadians hungered for public intellectuals pontificating on the distinctiveness of their identity.
—Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
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
Adjective
Oscar speeches can feel pontificating and pointless, a shout into the echo chamber.
—Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
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
Verb
Known as the Dragon Slayer, he’s often shown meditating, praying, waxing philosophical, and pontificating on nobility, integrity and honor.
—Pamela Chelin, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2026
In the 1960s, Canadians hungered for public intellectuals pontificating on the distinctiveness of their identity.
—Dónal Gill, The Dial, 28 Oct. 2025
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
Adjective
-
Raring to go, all the top military brass, including the agitated Eisenhower and his supercilious British counterpart General Bernard Montgomery (Damian Lewis), act as though the rational, needfully single-minded man of science has personally betrayed the mission.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
27 May 2026
-
Her supercilious caricature of a boss, Suzie (Tara Summers), serves merely as a source of pressure.—
Television Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
20 May 2026
Noun
-
Indeed, this period marked the beginning of Copeland’s lifelong emphasis on prosperity theology, which would become central to his preaching and ministry.—
Rachel Cole,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
19 May 2026
-
Watch for intense preaching or over-defending beliefs.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Santat’s illustrations begin with straightforward, muted sincerity and become brighter, busier, and more gleeful—filling every corner of the page—as Sharpson’s narrator becomes ever more unhinged, ranting about fish spies, fish disguises, and fish taking over the world.—
Elise Broach,
New Yorker,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Those are just a few of the questions that audience members are ranting and raving their way through while exiting the Hayes Theater.—
Shania Russell,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
This magisterial polemic demonstrates how what may appear to be distant American history remains acutely relevant.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2026
-
Zenyatta was such a filly, Seattle Slew was such a colt; more recently, the magisterial Flightline and Bill Mott’s tough late closer Sovereignty reassure us that the sport has much life yet in it, that our grand river of breeding stock is healthy and deep.—
Guy Martin,
Forbes.com,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Critically, the moralizing over climate change is gone.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
22 May 2026
-
Her moralizing of Vernice’s character, which doesn’t happen in reverse, was fascinating to me.—
Tembe Denton-Hurst,
Vulture,
24 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Only 15 minutes of hands-on time goes into the side dish recipe that friends and family can't stop raving over.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
28 May 2026
-
Shoppers are raving about the tightening and smoothing results of the Naturium Skin-Rewning Retinol Body Lotion.—
Olivia Dubyak,
InStyle,
23 May 2026
Adjective
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Leo opened his visit to Pompeii by meeting with sick and disabled people who are cared for by a charity center affiliated with the sanctuary, which Leo’s namesake, Pope Leo XIII, declared a pontifical basilica in 1901.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 May 2026
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That public spat has overshadowed his pontifical tour of four African countries, which ended Thursday with a Mass for thousands of people in Malabo, the former capital of Equatorial Guinea.—
Claudio Lavanga,
NBC news,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The British Museum elected to postpone a Jewish Culture Month event that was scheduled to take place last Thursday, May 28th due to concerns that the talk—a lecture on Ancient Israel and Judah—might be disrupted by protests.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
1 June 2026
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That’s the case for the group Cabral and some 35,000 other youth belong to, Hakuna, which started in the early 2010s in a Madrid parish when a group of college students set up a weekly hour of Eucharistic adoration, preceded by a short lecture and followed by a meetup at a local bar.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
1 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 6 Jun. 2026.
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