remonstrate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to say or plead in protest, objection, or disapproval.
-
Obsolete. to show.
verb (used without object)
verb
-
to argue in protest or objection
to remonstrate with the government
-
archaic to show or point out
Other Word Forms
- remonstratingly adverb
- remonstration noun
- remonstrative adjective
- remonstratively adverb
- remonstrator noun
- unremonstrated adjective
- unremonstrating adjective
- unremonstrative adjective
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; -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.
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
The court heard Mr Fellows recognised Amesbury and approached him to remonstrate about a bridge closure in the town.
From BBC • Jan. 16, 2025
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 match delegate countered that perhaps “a caution and reprimand would have been sufficient” because other managers remonstrate with officials “without such punishment,” the FA’s ruling noted.
From Seattle Times • Sep. 15, 2022
Annoyed that Horatio should remonstrate with me, I spoke sharply.
From "Ophelia" by Lisa Klein
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.
