expostulate
verb /ɪkˈspɒstʃəleɪt/
/ɪkˈspɑːstʃəleɪt/
[intransitive, transitive] (formal)Verb Forms
| present simple I / you / we / they expostulate | /ɪkˈspɒstʃəleɪt/ /ɪkˈspɑːstʃəleɪt/ |
| he / she / it expostulates | /ɪkˈspɒstʃəleɪts/ /ɪkˈspɑːstʃəleɪts/ |
| past simple expostulated | /ɪkˈspɒstʃəleɪtɪd/ /ɪkˈspɑːstʃəleɪtɪd/ |
| past participle expostulated | /ɪkˈspɒstʃəleɪtɪd/ /ɪkˈspɑːstʃəleɪtɪd/ |
| -ing form expostulating | /ɪkˈspɒstʃəleɪtɪŋ/ /ɪkˈspɑːstʃəleɪtɪŋ/ |
- (+ speech) to argue, disagree or protest about somethingTopics Opinion and argumentc2Word Originmid 16th cent. (in the sense ‘demand how or why, state a complaint’): from Latin expostulat- ‘demanded’, from the verb expostulare, from ex- ‘out’ + postulare ‘demand’.