remonstrate
Americanverb (used with object)
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remonstrates,
present (3rd person singular)
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remonstrated,
past participle, past
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remonstrating
present participle
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to say or plead in protest, objection, or disapproval.
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Obsolete. to show.
verb (used without object)
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remonstrates,
present (3rd person singular)
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remonstrated,
past participle, past
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remonstrating
present participle
verb
-
to argue in protest or objection
to remonstrate with the government
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archaic to show or point out
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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remonstrationnoun
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remonstratornoun
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remonstrativeadjective
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unremonstratedadjective
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unremonstratingadjective
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unremonstrativeadjective
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remonstratinglyadverb
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remonstrativelyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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remonstratesimple
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remonstratessimple
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have remonstratedperfect
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has remonstratedperfect
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am remonstratingprogressive
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are remonstratingprogressive
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is remonstratingprogressive
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have been remonstratingperfect progressive
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has been remonstratingperfect progressive
Past
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remonstratedsimple
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had remonstratedperfect
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was remonstratingprogressive
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were remonstratingprogressive
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had been remonstratingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of remonstrate
1590–1600; < Medieval Latin remōnstrātus (past participle of remōnstrāre to exhibit, demonstrate), equivalent to re- re- + mōnstrā ( re ) to show + -tus past participle suffix; see -ate 1
Explanation
Remonstrate means to call someone on something that's wrong. If your mother yells at you in public, you might call this getting chewed out. She might call it remonstrating. Either way, it's embarrassing. Remonstrate has its roots in a Latin verb meaning "to show," and it used to mean "to make plain." Which is why remonstrate is a word that puts the glow of respectability on the action of yelling at someone or telling them that they're wrong. The sense is that the person remonstrating is the victim — they're just making the injustice plain.
Vocabulary lists containing remonstrate
Frankenstein
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"What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" by Frederick Douglass
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Despite its military prowess, Sparta lacked strategic depth; its king, Archidamus II, therefore urged his countrymen to remonstrate with the Athenians, to buy time while recruiting other distant powers to their side.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2025
Norway forward Haaland was one of several City players to remonstrate with Hooper.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2023
The article’s sensational headline read, “Raving Private Ryan! Tom Hanks and wife Rita Wilson remonstrate with a red carpet staffer as they attend the 76th Cannes Film Festival premiere of Asteroid City.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 24, 2023
The German was sent off after charging out of his technical area late in his team’s 1-0 win at Anfield to remonstrate with the referee’s assistant.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 18, 2022
I presented the mash; which he did not take; nor, in his sickness, did he remonstrate when I held the mash before his face.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Juan Quintero of Colombia’s Deportivo Pereira remonstrates with Rony of Brazil’s Palmeiras during a Copa Libertadores quarterfinal first-leg soccer match.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2023
But as Mr Green remonstrates, the City of Culture status technically runs for four years, not just one.
From Economist ● Sep. 25, 2017
"I think your scoreboard is exaggerating a bit!" he remonstrates.
From BBC ● Mar. 10, 2014
He’s not against a sturdy arrangement idea: in the down-and-out narrative “Wavering Lines,” a string section creeps in and methodically spreads tension; in “Coming Through,” he remonstrates over an anachronistic soul-band chug.
From New York Times ● Sep. 9, 2013
Stewart, Captain, remonstrates with the President against laying up the navy, i.
From The Second War with England, Vol. 2 of 2 by Joel Tyler Headley
As I read, I found myself recalling a story I once heard of an aggrieved man who remonstrated with his mother about her open preference for his little brother when they were boys.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Germany's Zverev was furious as he remonstrated with the match supervisor, accusing the officials of giving Alcaraz preferential treatment.
From BBC ● Jan. 30, 2026
After jurors left the room, the judge remonstrated with prosecutors over the questions.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 8, 2024
Ten Hag remonstrated with officials over a throw-in decision late in the game at Old Trafford, which United won after Victor Lindelof’s 59th-minute goal.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 11, 2023
I remonstrated with him and said that it was the tradition of the ANC to work with anyone who was against racial oppression.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
He was allowed to have treatment at the changeover, leaving Zverev furious and angrily remonstrating with officials.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
I have stopped remonstrating with him on that point.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
The nerves appeared to be setting in for Medvedev and moments later he hurled his racket at the boards after losing a scintillating rally, before remonstrating with the crowd as the boos rang out.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 18, 2023
Unused substitute Matheus Nunes was also shown a red card deep into second-half stoppage time after remonstrating with the officials in the aftermath of Rodrigo's late goal.
From BBC ● Mar. 18, 2023
In the rearview mirror I noticed with gratification that he was remonstrating quietly but firmly with Luther—threatening, I very much hoped, to take away his communication device.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
