as in supercilious
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
as in preaching
Related Words
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.
Related Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of pontificating
Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 31 Aug. 2025
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
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
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
-
And now the supercilious Ivy League twits try to dodge the consequences of their woke follies.—
Howie Carr,
Boston Herald,
24 Dec. 2025
-
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
Noun
-
If a team gets in the red zone five times and kicks five field goals, Singleton remembers Joseph preaching, what’s the score?—
Luca Evans,
Denver Post,
20 Dec. 2025
-
Officials in these countries say the Brotherhood uses a blend of religious preaching, political activism, charitable institutions and media platforms to shape public opinion and challenge state authority.—
Efrat Lachter,
FOXNews.com,
25 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
When someone is ranting and raving about you, ignore them.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
Cheung played a tape of Nicholson ranting and raving at the Kaiser facility in Irvine.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
22 Oct. 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
-
Her sound was magisterial and rich, a full-bodied account — until the very end.—
Hannah Edgar,
Chicago Tribune,
17 July 2025
Noun
-
After all the moralizing from the media in the early days of COVID, under Biden everything was suddenly fine.—
David Wingrave,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
-
Or the moralizing at the end of the show, when the audience, in sympathy with the Phantom, is asked to unmask.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
30 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
When someone is ranting and raving about you, ignore them.—
Megan Cartwright,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
-
That said, no one was raving about these shakes, either.—
Alaina Chou,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
30 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The bishops further authorized a new edition of the Roman Pontifical for pontifical Masses, expected to be completed by 2027, with Vatican approval pending for some rites, according to the Catholic News Agency.—
Jordan King,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Nov. 2025
-
In its report, the pontifical commission highlights failures in the Italian church.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
16 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Chapter Five is actually just a lecture that somebody gives—somebody who turns out to be the protagonist, Tunde.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
But at a lecture in Tel Aviv, Israel, about 25 years ago, the audience’s response took Lack by surprise.—
Meg Tirrell,
CNN Money,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share