as in hifalutin
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as in moralizing
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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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pontificating
Verb
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Last week, Fox premiered the new comedy Going Dutch, about a ranting conservative father (Denis Leary) forced to reconnect with his estranged liberal daughter (Taylor Misiak).—
Daniel Fienberg,
The Hollywood Reporter,
3 Sep. 2019 -
The Pats addressed two of their biggest needs, but instead in Tuesday’s paper there’s me, smiling in my headshot and ranting in print, a clueless dope.—
Andrew Callahan,
Boston Herald,
12 Mar. 2024
Adjective
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Arthur is … a lot too, but with a supercilious edge?—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2025
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Not that Allen wasn’t above poking fun at a friend: In many of their films together, Allen presented Roberts as so cool-headed as to verge on the comically supercilious.—
Peter Tonguette,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And currently, there is Charles Gaines’ magisterial new works, Numbers and Trees, The Tanzania Baobabs, at Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood (on view through May 31, 2025).—
Tom Teicholz,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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Image Memento Mori by Muriel Spark Few writers were as capable of scalpel-sharp dissection of the rich as the Scottish novelist Muriel Spark, whose magisterial social satires remain relevant even half a century later.—
Calum Marsh,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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At one point during five days of questioning, Miller received a lecture from Richard T. Bretzing, who ran the FBI’s L.A. office and was a bishop in the Mormon Church.—
Christopher Goffard,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
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With sample disasters like this one in mind, Fielder heads to the Aviation Technology Complex for a lecture that John Goglia is giving to students about his experience at the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
21 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Francis had established the Holy See’s first pontifical commission for the protection of minors early on in his reign.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2025
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Turkson resigned from that role in 2021 and was appointed to head two pontifical academies on sciences and social sciences.—
Philip Pullella, Crispian Balmer, Alvise Armellini, Joshua McElwee and Chris Scicluna,
USA Today,
21 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Read: An unabashedly intellectual murder mystery In both novels, the artists eventually do solve their mysteries, but largely through the interference of others rather than their own genius.—
Talya Zax,
The Atlantic,
23 Apr. 2025
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This allows creators to more acutely mobilize and monetize their followings without the interference of platform agendas.—
Solo Ceesay,
Rolling Stone,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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That doesn’t portray a hero, but rather someone so arrogant as to invent his own law and appoint himself its executioner.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2025
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Fed Up in Illinois Dear Fed Up: Is Edie mean, arrogant, disobedient and rude in the presence of her parents, or has she been invited to spend time with your girls separately?—
Abigail Van Buren,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2025
Noun
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In several cases, I was offered only one class at a time, not because of teaching demand, but because assigning more hours would have triggered additional administrative requirements under my state’s labor law.—
Dr. Diane Hamilton,
Forbes.com,
27 Apr. 2025
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Reading the results, on my living-room couch, turned out to be the most profound experience of my teaching career.—
D. Graham Burnett,
New Yorker,
26 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 3 May. 2025.
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