expostulate
/ɪkˈspɒstjʊleɪt
/ /ɛkˈspɒstjʊleɪt/verb [no object]
Express strong disapproval or disagreement: he found Fox expostulating with a young man...
- If you read down the Hansard report, you'll see he then loses control altogether, peevishly expostulating, ‘We do not need moral lectures from the Conservative party.’
- I'm glad to see plenty of letters expostulating about the preposterous piece in the newspaper.
- ‘Now this is really blackmail,’ the villain expostulates.
Synonyms
remonstrate, disagree, argue, take issue, reason, express disagreement;
make a protest to, protest to, raise objections to, object to, complain to
Derivatives
expostulation
/ /ɛkspɒstjʊˈleɪʃ(ə)n / noun ...- This, under the circumstances, has been justly characterized by one of the witnesses as an expression of remonstrance or expostulation.
- Blame, expostulations, recriminations and horseplay - David provides an up-close-and-personal document of the family's most wrenchingly private moments.
- Compare and contrast the treatment meted out to Minister Lewis, who was constantly interrupted with incredulous comments and expostulations.
expostulator
expostulatory
/ /ɛkˈspɒstjʊlət(ə)ri / adjective ...- When I wailed about this to the executive in charge of shepherding the Australian through production and distribution, he was expostulatory.
- Keating's expostulatory phone calls to newspaper owners and editors are notorious.
Origin
Mid 16th century (in the sense 'demand how or why, state a complaint'): from Latin expostulat- 'demanded', from the verb expostulare, from ex- 'out' + postulare 'demand'.