expostulate

/ɛksˈpɒstjʊleɪt/

Etymology

From Latin expostulō (“demand, claim”) + -ate (verb-forming suffix). By surface analysis, ex- + postulate.

expostulate means To protest or remonstrate; to reason earnestly with a person on some impropriety of conduct [(often) with with]. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why this word is great

EXPOSTULATE — [Verb] To reason earnestly with someone in an effort to dissuade or protest against a particular course of action. From the Latin expostulare ("to demand urgently, remonstrate"), from ex- ("thoroughly") and postulare ("to demand"). Unlike "remonstrate," which carries the sting of formal indignation, or "dissuade," which merely names the intended outcome, to expostulate is the patient, logical, and thorough laying-out of a case. It is a friend's low, urgent voice over a third drink, the measured cadence of a parent explaining consequence for the hundredth time, the quiet, desperate clarity of one last appeal before the door clicks shut. One argues with the cliff's edge, politely.

verb

To protest or remonstrate; to reason earnestly with a person on some impropriety of conduct [(often) with with].“The tears would run plentifully down my face when I made these reflections; and sometimes I would expostulate with myself why Providence should thus completely ruin His creatures, and render them so absolutely miserable; so without help, abandoned, so entirely depressed, that it could hardly be rational to be thankful for such a life.”