What does "expostulate" mean?

To protest or remonstrate; to reason earnestly with a person on some impropriety of conduct [(often) with with].

What is a synonym for "expostulate"?

Common synonyms include: challenge, demur, except, kick, object, protest.

Pronounced //ɛksˈpɑstjʊleɪt//.

//ɛksˈpɑstjʊleɪt// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Verb

1
To protest or remonstrate; to reason earnestly with a person on some impropriety of conduct [(often) with with]. intransitive
"The tears would run plentifully down my face when I made these reflections; and sometimes I would expostulate with myself why Providence should thus completely ruin His creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable; so without help, abandoned, so entirely depressed, that it could hardly be rational to be thankful for such a life."
2
reason with (somebody) for the purpose of dissuasion wordnet

"Whatever they directed, it was in vain to expostulate; fetters, and bread and water, were the sure consequences of resistance."

From Latin expostulō (“demand, claim”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, ex- + postulate.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.