hectoring

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.

A light touch works better than self-righteous hectoring.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

No one in history has embodied the role of a fascist gym teacher more thoroughly than Jordan, a man whose only waking mode is "hectoring."

From Salon • Oct. 18, 2023

Biden will bring up concerns about press freedoms, religious freedoms and other issues in a respectful way without "hectoring, lecturing or scolding," one U.S. official who briefed reporters said.

From Reuters • Jun. 22, 2023

The Kid — a name McCarthy also used for his protagonist in 1985’s “Blood Meridian” — began appearing to Alice during adolescence and serves as a hectoring protector.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 21, 2022

Then Comrade Pillai, in a hectoring voice, quoted Chairman Mao.

From "The God of Small Things" by Arundhati Roy