expostulate

verb

ik-ˈspäs-chə-ˌlāt How to pronounce expostulate (audio)
Definition of expostulatenext
as in to object
to present an opposing opinion or argument the concerned parents tried to expostulate with their daughter when she announced her intention to live on her own in New York City

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 expostulate But most of her extended conversations on campus were either with the administrator, Val, or with the custodian, a man named Hank who liked to park himself in her office doorway and expostulate about the upcoming hunting season. — Literary Hub, 11 May 2026 But her style, it is suggested (for what happened at those audiences was wholly confidential) was never to expostulate – merely to ask a leading question, or to drop a subtle hint. — Sarah Gristwood, CNN, 12 Sep. 2022 His humility does not work in his favor when promoting fights, and there is no hype man in Miocic’s corner expostulating his accolades. — Justin Barrasso, SI.com, 14 Aug. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for expostulate
  1. object
  2. complain
  3. protest
Verb
  • For the last five decades, the CZMA has been celebrated as a bipartisan co-management framework that gave coastal and Great Lakes states the power to review and object to federal projects that affect their shorelines.
    — Rosanna Xia, Los Angeles Times, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Skeptics will object that none of this changes Beijing’s ultimate objective.
    — Ningrong Liu, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of object
Verb
  • That March, a seventy-year-old patient from a wealthy Cypriot family, Evie Lanitis, arrived at BioMed, complaining of a host of minor maladies, including bursitis in her toes, dental pain, and digestive issues.
    — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026
  • In the days before the spill was announced, residents complained of fuel-like odors pervading areas of Dubai and north.
    — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of complain
Verb
  • Chalking, per university rules that dictate when, where and how students can protest, is not allowed on walls and vertical surfaces.
    — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Throughout that year, as Israelis poured into the streets to protest Netanyahu's far-right government and its plan to weaken the judiciary, Netanyahu's security chiefs warned that regional enemies could take advantage of the turmoil to attack.
    — Daniel Estrin, NPR, 25 Oct. 2026
Definition of protest

Browse Nearby Words

expository
expostulate
expostulated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Expostulate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/expostulate. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of milieu

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All