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.
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Examples 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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Still, in many voters’ minds, the association between Democrats and supercilious scolding seems hard to shake.—
Andrew Marantz,
The New Yorker,
14 Dec. 2024
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Even Lu, most closed and supercilious of the bunch, has weird, troubled reservoirs of shame that gradually start to froth and bubble.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
19 Sep. 2024
Adjective
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My Heart Skipped, the magisterial prison drama A Prophet or the equally bleak Palme d’Or winner Dheepan.—
Julian Sancton,
The Hollywood Reporter,
11 Jan. 2025
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His magisterial trilogy, The Coming of the Third Reich, The Third Reich in Power, and The Third Reich at War, is essential reading for anyone who wishes to understand the forces that shaped the world between the end of World War I and 1945.—
Jim Kelly,
airmail.news,
10 Aug. 2024
Noun
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New ways need to be developed for easily producing more compelling video lectures so more people can take part in flexible or hybrid learning.—
Mark Sparrow,
Forbes,
16 Jan. 2025
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Participants can learn about police operations, practices and objectives through lectures, interactive discussions and hands-on demonstrations, a news release said.—
Michelle Mullins,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Jan. 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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McDuffie was called for pass interference five times and Jones was called for offsides five times.—
Joseph Hernandez,
Kansas City Star,
17 Jan. 2025
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President-elect Trump’s legal team submitted a written opposition Friday to the Georgia Supreme Court over Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s request to have the state’s high court review her removal from the former president’s 2020 election interference case.—
Ashleigh Fields,
The Hill,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Julie Bowen and Christopher McDonald return as love interest Virginia Venit and arrogant rival Shooter McGavin, respectively, and the cast includes rookies like Bad Bunny, Travis Kelce and pro wrestler Maxwell Jacob Friedman.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
17 Jan. 2025
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Those include genial second-year resident Dr. King (Taylor Dearden), arrogant intern Santos (Isa Briones), and doe-eyed med students Javadi (Shabana Azeez) and Whittaker (Gerran Howell).—
Ryan Schwartz,
TVLine,
9 Jan. 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,
Sacramento Bee,
21 Jan. 2025
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Specifically, the teachings of Immanuel Kant made an indelible impact.—
Michael Ashley,
Forbes,
20 Jan. 2025
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Thesaurus Entries Near pontificating
Cite this Entry
“Pontificating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pontificating. Accessed 30 Jan. 2025.
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