as in hifalutin
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as in moralizing
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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.
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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Arthur is … a lot too, but with a supercilious edge?—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Mar. 2025
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Not that Allen wasn’t above poking fun at a friend: In many of their films together, Allen presented Roberts as so cool-headed as to verge on the comically supercilious.—
Peter Tonguette,
Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government,
21 Feb. 2025
Adjective
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And currently, there is Charles Gaines’ magisterial new works, Numbers and Trees, The Tanzania Baobabs, at Hauser & Wirth West Hollywood (on view through May 31, 2025).—
Tom Teicholz,
Forbes.com,
8 Apr. 2025
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Image Memento Mori by Muriel Spark Few writers were as capable of scalpel-sharp dissection of the rich as the Scottish novelist Muriel Spark, whose magisterial social satires remain relevant even half a century later.—
Calum Marsh,
New York Times,
7 Apr. 2025
Noun
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The lecture will feature tribal representatives Stan Rodriguez, Priscilla Ortiz and Andrew Pittman, along with Nan Renner, senior director of strategic partnerships at Birch Aquarium.—
La Jolla Light,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2025
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At these exhibitions, Colton would start with a brief lecture explaining the gas and its scientific properties, then invite volunteers from the audience to try it for themselves.—
Ella Jeffries,
Smithsonian Magazine,
8 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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The prose is confiding and, in places, pontifical.—
Judith Thurman,
The New Yorker,
24 Aug. 2020
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That revelation, coupled with other recent pontifical critiques, have quickly dissolved the notion that the Dec. 31 death of Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, a symbolic leader of the church’s conservative wing, might lessen the opposition to Francis.—
Stefano Pitrelli,
Washington Post,
18 Jan. 2023
Noun
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Its peak should come on Tuesday morning, April 22, when moonlight will pose little interference.—
Joe Rao,
Space.com,
6 Apr. 2025
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Jacob Fatu defeated Braun Strowman in a Last Man Standing match with no outside interference.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
5 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Ava Daniels is a young comedy writer who is unable to find work due to an insensitive tweet and her reputation for being self-centered and arrogant.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
9 Apr. 2025
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And the villains, of course, exuding every nastily relatable emotion; the stepmothers and sorceresses are vain, arrogant, dismissive, lonely, rude, and outrageous.—
Darren Franich,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2025
Noun
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He’s been writing, editing and teaching for nearly 50 years, with stops in Hagerstown, Maryland; Riverside, California; Annapolis; Baltimore; and, since 1981, Washington.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
3 Apr. 2025
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The law barred state funds from going toward the teachings of critical race theory, an academic framework emphasizing slavery’s impact on society today.—
Rose Evans,
Idaho Statesman,
3 Apr. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 16 Apr. 2025.
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