1
as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
the frustrated manager lectured the waitstaff about its poor level of service
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in speaks
to give a formal often extended talk on a subject
a physician who has lectured before countless audiences on the importance of diet and exercise in avoiding heart disease
Synonyms & Similar Words
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lectures
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
2 June 2026
Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.
—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
When not writing, May frequently lectures on the politics and policies of mass incarceration for university classes, academic conferences, and online events.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
With me, my wife lectures me more than my children.
—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Apr. 2026
The van’s speakers played a high-volume mashup of construction sounds, Jordan Peterson lectures, Marine Corps drills, and mumbling voices.
—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Assistive listening studies report that bypassing room acoustics and delivering audio directly can improve signal‑to‑noise ratios by 15–20 dB, making announcements comprehensible and lectures clearer [8].
—
IEEE Spectrum,
26 Feb. 2026
Simon Maghakyan lectures on the 20th anniversary of the destruction of Djulfa in December 2025.
—
Simon Maghakyan,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
In her car, Jessica Gabriel’s Lady is an avid listener of DJ Revolution, a fictional radio DJ who lectures passionately about the struggles of modern-day life in Nigeria.
—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
Today’s successful downtowns rely on a mix of ingredients, said Steven Falk, the former city manager of Lafayette, who’s served as an interim city executive in Oakland and Richmond and who lectures at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.
—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
2 June 2026
Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.
—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
When not writing, May frequently lectures on the politics and policies of mass incarceration for university classes, academic conferences, and online events.
—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
8 Apr. 2026
With me, my wife lectures me more than my children.
—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Apr. 2026
The van’s speakers played a high-volume mashup of construction sounds, Jordan Peterson lectures, Marine Corps drills, and mumbling voices.
—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Assistive listening studies report that bypassing room acoustics and delivering audio directly can improve signal‑to‑noise ratios by 15–20 dB, making announcements comprehensible and lectures clearer [8].
—
IEEE Spectrum,
26 Feb. 2026
Simon Maghakyan lectures on the 20th anniversary of the destruction of Djulfa in December 2025.
—
Simon Maghakyan,
Time,
30 Jan. 2026
In her car, Jessica Gabriel’s Lady is an avid listener of DJ Revolution, a fictional radio DJ who lectures passionately about the struggles of modern-day life in Nigeria.
—
Zac Ntim,
Deadline,
22 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lectures
Verb
-
Someone else scolds the offender.
-
Inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Cundieff makes quick work of lambasting the casual misogyny and homophobia ingrained in hardcore rap, but also of the media scolds unable to parse the message of the music.
Verb
-
The role required fluency in at least three languages—and Blunt, by her own admission, just about speaks Spanish.
-
Host Mary Louise Kelly speaks with NPR's Ukraine Correspondent Joanna Kakissis about the overnight attack in Kyiv, which comes on the heels of Ukraine's drone assaults in Moscow.
Noun
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Dani provides the voiceover, filled with strained metaphors about earthquakes and sermons on the importance of summer, but the pretense that the dialogue is taken from his interrogation is quickly abandoned.
-
The fracas played out in heated sermons, editorials, and denominational meetings.
Verb
-
The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
-
His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.
Verb
-
Instead, the guy talks to dead barkeeps and wields an ax more than his typewriter.
-
Albert Saijo, second semester editor of Echoes, Heart Mountain high school publication, talks things over with Hisako Takehara and Alice Tanouye, first semester co-editors.
Noun
-
Though parents would have the option to opt their children out of some of the required teachings, Clark said, missing lessons could impact students’ test scores.
-
Below, members of Forbes Technology Council share lessons larger engineering organizations can take from small development teams and why doing so can make a meaningful positive difference.
Verb
-
The couple has been targeted by a group called Boycott Divest Zabludowicz, which criticizes them for supporting a pro-Israel lobby.
-
That letter, referenced in the Brandeis Center complaint, criticizes the APA for failing to discipline a former division president, Lara Sheehi, for various incendiary comments about Zionism.
Noun
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Roberts noted that race and citizenship had been fiercely debated in courts, speeches, Congress and battlefields because of Black Americans’ fight for freedom from slavery.
-
After Starmer spoke, several lawmakers in the House of Commons made emotional speeches about their own experiences.
Cite this Entry
“Lectures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lectures. Accessed 6 Jul. 2026.
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