expostulate
Americanverb (used without object)
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of expostulate
First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin expostulātus “urgently demanded, required” (past participle of expostulāre ); see ex- 1, postulate
Explanation
When you expostulate, you argue strongly against someone doing something. You might expostulate with your little brother, objecting to his plan to jump off the roof into a pile of leaves. Someone who expostulates has strong opinions about other people's plans or ideas and a desire to convince them to change their minds. You might expostulate about your town's new law banning dogs from coffee shops, arguing against it in a letter to the local newspaper. Expostulate comes from the Latin root word expostulare, meaning "to demand urgently." The English word still contains this urgency, with an added sense of persuasion and reasoned argument.
Vocabulary lists containing expostulate
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
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Frankenstein
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Grade 11, List 4
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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:
He often stops on his way into and out of the proceedings, which cameras can’t film, to expostulate and to cast various developments as victories.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 6, 2023
They have come out of their way to find a doctor—not for themselves but as a useful addendum to Sanditon’s delights, upon which Parker likes to expostulate, to the exclusion of every other theme:
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 5, 2017
Her fellow workers first expostulate and then copy her.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 10, 2013
Or ring their doorbell and expostulate in calm, well-reasoned tones.
From Time Magazine Archive
Sometimes, when the day was very unfavourable, his sisters would expostulate.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
"I was born in a provincial town, in a family that had nothing to do with the world of journalists, politicians or bankers," he expostulated, clearly annoyed.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2022
Adam Smith, who expostulated the theory of the Invisible Hand in “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776, believed that most business was narrowly focused on reducing costs and improving quality.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 15, 2019
One theory, expostulated in this week’s edition of The Economist, suggests that he won’t.
From The New Yorker ● Sep. 11, 2015
"No chance with the Seekers' new single," expostulated John.
From The Guardian ● Dec. 24, 2012
"Oh, but surely in your sister's interest?" the duchess expostulated.
From Sophia A Romance by Weyman, Stanley John
He ran out of the house, down its long, curving driveway, and onto the sidewalk, still expostulating with the Almighty: “Lord, give me another chance…. Haven’t I brought happiness to anyone in this world?”
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 4, 2015
With Nixon vigorously expostulating and pointing his finger into the chest of the impassive Khrushchev, the contestants look like bickering clowns.
From New York Times ● Jun. 9, 2011
His chauffeur, volubly expostulating in Japanese, tried to save the situation.
From Time Magazine Archive
He sympathized warmly and actively with the French revolutionary doctrines, expostulating with Burke on his vehement denunciation of the same.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 8 "France" to "Francis Joseph I." by Various
They could see nothing where they were sitting, but they heard the sound of many voices—entreating, expostulating, scolding, and at last they heard words.
From The Twa Miss Dawsons by Robertson, Margaret M. (Margaret Murray)
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.
