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
-
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
-
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
Noun
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Unfortunately, the bulk of the requisite moralizing falls mainly to Palmer’s socially conscious Elena, saddled with one too many speeches about making a difference, which puts a damper on the actress’ customary energetic spark.—
Michael Rechtshaffen,
HollywoodReporter,
7 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The slippers have more than 1,600 five-star ratings, with fellow shoppers raving about their durability and fit.—
Alyssa Grabinski,
People.com,
10 Sep. 2025
-
Fans are raving about the episode on reddit and elsewhere.—
Erik Kain,
Forbes.com,
10 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
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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Jim Bakker typically handled the preaching on the show while his wife did the singing.—
Adam Bell,
Charlotte Observer,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Jud sees faith as redemptive, having turned to it after causing the death of a fellow boxer in his youth, while Wicks uses shame in his preaching.—
Esther Zuckerman,
Time,
8 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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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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Instead of giving a long lecture on the subject, the teacher shares a 5 minute video highlighting the main events of the war.—
Hannah Nwoko,
Parents,
10 Sep. 2025
-
However, the first module typically is a single video lecture introducing the class.—
Jill Duffy,
PC Magazine,
8 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
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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