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
-
After appearing as supercilious EPA company man Walter Peck in Ghostbusters, Atherton completed his trilogy of goofy comedies with Real Genius (1985) and Bio-Dome (1996).—
Declan Gallagher,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 June 2026
-
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
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
-
Trump continued ranting as Welker tried to fit in more questions about the weaponization fund, but the president said he was done with the interview, thanking Welker for the time and wishing her a good day before walking away.—
Claire Carter,
The Washington Examiner,
7 June 2026
-
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
Adjective
-
This magisterial polemic demonstrates how what may appear to be distant American history remains acutely relevant.—
Anna Holmes,
The Atlantic,
27 May 2026
-
Bruegel finished the magisterial Children’s Games in 1560, and by the 1700s, George Stubbs was painting racehorses at Newmarket.—
Nate Freeman,
Vanity Fair,
21 May 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
-
With raping, raving misogynists in the highest offices and loudest cultural bandwidths of the world, women of all classes have cause to be righteously filled with rage, betrayal, and disappointment.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 June 2026
-
Customers can't stop raving about them, either.—
Jacquelyn McGilvray,
PEOPLE,
12 June 2026
Adjective
-
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
-
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
-
And this is where the second component of the performance-lecture’s effectiveness comes in, specifically for artists who work with technology and the internet as their subject and medium.—
Shanti Escalante-De Mattei,
ARTnews.com,
16 June 2026
-
The event will also include a lecture series by local historians and scholars about the arts on display.—
Hema Sivanandam,
Mercury News,
15 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 18 Jun. 2026.
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