1
as in lecturing
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject
the eminent professor harangued for three hours on his favorite subject, the clash of East and West
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2
as in speaking
to talk as if giving an important and formal speech
a talk-show guest using the interviewer's questions as an opportunity to harangue on a variety of pet peeves
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Recent Examples of haranguing
That entanglement allowed Biden to traverse the country haranguing business on equity, climate, daycare, union labor, and other whole-of-government crusades—while taunting Republicans who relented for the sake of home-district dollars.
—
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Tuesday’s report is likely to be viewed favorably by the president, who has spent the past months haranguing Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2025
Clyde Wayne Crews Jr, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
Tuesday’s report is likely to be viewed favorably by the president, who has spent the past months haranguing Fed Chair Jerome Powell to lower interest rates.
—Rob Wile, NBC news, 12 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for haranguing
Verb
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Sometimes the messages got feisty, with Epstein lecturing Karp over a fee.—
Tom Schoenberg,
Fortune,
5 Feb. 2026
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Before the world complicated things with espresso machines, oat milk debates, and influencers lecturing to you about grind size, wild coffee trees were clinging to the Ethiopian highlands.—
John Noakes,
Hartford Courant,
31 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Despite speaking different languages, Toro Sepulveda and Henry became close friends, both said.—
Nuria Martinez-Keel,
Oklahoma Voice,
10 Feb. 2026
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Tangipa asked, speaking on the Assembly floor.—
Katie King,
Los Angeles Times,
10 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Tenants speaking to the town council Monday said JRK initially directed them to use their renter’s insurance to pay for alternate lodging; the company later agreed to pay those expenses after talking with town officials.—
Staff Report,
Hartford Courant,
9 Feb. 2026
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Smith thinks taxpayers should spend more time talking to their tax preparers about next year’s taxes.—
Daniel de Visé,
USA Today,
9 Feb. 2026
Verb
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More often, though, Tallent demonstrates his characters’ precarity rather than declaiming about it.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The first 10 minutes of the film are set in Norms, where a grungy man staggers in with a bomb, ranting about artificial intelligence.—
Fielding Buck,
Daily News,
10 Feb. 2026
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In two minutes of ranting and raving about his degenerate son’s twenty-six-thousand-dollar dinner bill, Reiner gave an indelible comedic performance destined to be quoted for years to come.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
17 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Your superhero origin story doesn’t also have to a meta Hollywood buddy-comedy preaching The Thespian’s Gospel.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
12 Feb. 2026
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Some clergy view their moral obligations as going beyond preaching and leading them to on-the-ground advocacy and protest.—
Laura E. Alexander,
The Conversation,
10 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Haranguing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/haranguing. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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