as in to rant
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 pontificate
There’s been ad nauseam amounts of pontificating about the current state of the Democratic party.
—
Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
For nearly two decades, this central meeting hub has provided a space for industry professionals and festival goers alike to educate, discuss and pontificate over networking events, panels and more.
—Elsa Ramo, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
The late Mike Leach, known for pontificating on theoretical blockbuster animal battles, cued up videos of a particular animal before games and tied a theme to each one.
—Christopher Kamrani, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Francis chose to use that platform to pontificate against the war in the Gaza Strip, for example, and even rebuked President Donald Trump’s stance on immigration.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pontificate
Anita Chabria, Los Angeles Times, 27 June 2025
For nearly two decades, this central meeting hub has provided a space for industry professionals and festival goers alike to educate, discuss and pontificate over networking events, panels and more.
—Elsa Ramo, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
The late Mike Leach, known for pontificating on theoretical blockbuster animal battles, cued up videos of a particular animal before games and tied a theme to each one.
—Christopher Kamrani, New York Times, 14 May 2025
Francis chose to use that platform to pontificate against the war in the Gaza Strip, for example, and even rebuked President Donald Trump’s stance on immigration.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 9 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for pontificate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pontificate
Verb
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That may get them guest slots to rant on MSNBC, but that won’t help Chicago neighborhoods that are being held hostage by homegrown criminals who are shooting, carjacking and robbing them of their security and vitality.—
Laura Washington,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Sep. 2025
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And his ultimate war is with Bob, a tech CEO who rants about his haters and has gotten rich off rebranded snake oil and whose obvious corruption has been obscured by his self-mythologizing.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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National outlets raved about his production and fans implored the Royals to bring him up.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
4 Sep. 2025
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Shorter shoppers rave about them, too.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
2 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Pontificate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificate. Accessed 7 Sep. 2025.
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