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pontificate

[pon-tif-i-kit, -kayt, pon-tif-i-kayt] / pɒnˈtɪf ɪ kɪt, -ˌkeɪt, pɒnˈtɪf ɪˌkeɪt /


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.

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As the chaos unfolds, Greengrass doesn’t pontificate on the morality of these events and, in fact, maintains a rather neutral stance on them for most of the film, withholding judgment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026

Aged 70 and in good physical shape, he could have a long pontificate ahead of him.

From Barron's ● May 6, 2026

His pontificate was a steady point of authority in an increasingly unstable world.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025

A single, white rose was pictured lying on the stone tomb that bears the name he was known by during his pontificate, below a crucifix illuminated by a single spotlight.

From BBC ● Apr. 27, 2025

They pontificate upon the fluffiness of the popcorn, the sweetness of the chocolate.

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern

All this means it’s hard not to laugh when Hegseth pontificates about his hatred of “weirdos.”

From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026

With his 10 years as pontiff, Francis has now reigned longer than the 7.5 years average length of the previous 265 pontificates.

From Reuters ● Mar. 13, 2023

Francis told Gaenswein to stop coming to the office and to dedicate himself to caring for Benedict, essentially ending his job as the “bridge” between the pontificates.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 9, 2023

When Dudamel pontificates about music’s ability to unify communities and heal the soul, his voice comes through with pitch-perfect emotion.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 13, 2022

The captain stands behind me at the helm, and pontificates to his congregation of one.

From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman

On Monday’s episode of The View, co-host Whoopi Goldberg pontificated on the matter for an entire segment, reading from Van der Velden’s apology before going in for the takedown.

From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2025

I listened where before I might only have pontificated.

From BBC ● Jan. 25, 2025

He pontificated, and they filed down that sharpness respectfully.

From Salon ● Mar. 4, 2024

They each pontificated about a future pontificate — typically taboo while the current pope is very much alive.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 29, 2020

"There's obviously nothing immoral about nuking computers," Scott pontificated.

From Terminal Compromise: computer terrorism: when privacy and freedom are the victims: a novel by Winn Schwartau

Rebecca Nagle: The part we all know is the part where Thomas Jefferson is pontificating about these enlightenment ideals.

From Slate ● Jul. 3, 2026

Carpenter plucks Cricket from arts college and its meaningless pontificating to his “atelier in the corn,” a ramshackle Victorian where Cricket learns how to transmute what he sees with color and light.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026

The vice president pretended to pivot from “a longer discussion” of the subject, but then he immediately started pontificating about the culture’s “desire” to classify “celestial beings who fly around “as aliens.”

From Salon ● Apr. 1, 2026

The White House, in response to those remarks, said Madden should “stick to pontificating about pump-and-dump fraud schemes instead of international trade,” as MarketWatch reported last year.

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 25, 2026

“After all of your pontificating about the contortionist?”

From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern


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