expostulate

American  

[ik-spos-chuh-leyt] / ɪkˈspɒs tʃəˌleɪt /

verb (used without object)

expostulated, expostulating

1. to reason earnestly with someone against something that person intends to do or has done; remonstrate.

   His father expostulated with him about the evils of gambling.

   Synonyms:

   counsel, exhort, protest, argue, dispute

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expostulate British  

/ ɪkˈspɒstjʊˌleɪt /

verb

1. to argue or reason (with), esp in order to dissuade from an action or intention

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Other Word Forms

• expostulatingly adverb
• expostulation noun
• expostulator noun
• expostulatory adjective
• unexpostulating adjective

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.

Example Sentences

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

One time after he had acquired a C�zanne, he presented it to his seminar and began to expostulate on its form.

From Time Magazine Archive

Why merely say something, when they can declare, assert, expostulate, announce, or asseverate it?

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner