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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Relevance
as in hifalutin
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Dissimilar Words
as in moralizing
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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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Economics, that supercilious, take-me-seriously profession?—
Brian Domitrovic,
Forbes.com,
19 July 2025
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The show perpetuates corporate media’s retaliation against those who oppose its leftist, Marxist, Communist, socialist agenda — the ideological myth favored by superficial and supercilious showbiz types ever since All the President’s Men and Network.—
Armond White,
National Review,
30 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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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
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Twain’s narrative boasts some—discrepancies is too magisterial a word … peculiarities, say.—
Caity Weaver,
The Atlantic,
5 June 2025
Noun
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Central Florida Stamp Club: Meetings include auctions and informative lectures.—
Joe Rassel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
6 Aug. 2025
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Stamets, always a crowd favorite, will also offer a keynote lecture on how psilocybin mushrooms can save the world.—
Tiney Ricciardi,
Denver Post,
6 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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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
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The only pontifical name that hasn't been used more than once is Peter, the name of the first pope, though there's no prohibition against doing so.—
Christopher Watson,
ABC News,
8 May 2025
Adjective
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That sweet spot between professionalism, entertainment and high-and-mighty disapproval?—
Phil Hay,
New York Times,
19 June 2025
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Lots of high-and-mighty people populate Tyrrell’s recollections.—
John Fund,
National Review,
26 Nov. 2023
Noun
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The Angels had the bases loaded to start the eighth against Jax after an infield single (Mike Trout), a walk (Taylor Ward) and a catcher’s interference (Jo Adell).—
Marc Topkin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
7 Aug. 2025
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Attorney General Pam Bondi has directed federal prosecutors to launch a grand jury investigation into accusations that Obama administration officials manufactured intelligence about Russia’s 2016 election interference, a source familiar with the matter told CNN.—
Jade Walker,
CNN Money,
5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Depicting Americans as arrogant, loud, boorish and demeaning of other cultures, the term has stuck and is still mentioned 60-plus years later.—
Jenny Peters,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
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The most radical overhaul of the tax code in our state’s history would require voter approval in November 2026, and that starts by portraying local governments as cartoonishly arrogant, bloated and unaccountable.—
Orlando Sentinel,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.
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