lectures 1 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of lecture
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

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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

lectures

2 of 2

noun

plural of lecture
as in sermons

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lectures
Verb
Those experiences deepen understanding in ways that lectures and memorization alone rarely can. — Lisa Schade, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2026 Khimasia is an independent curator who currently lectures at Rutgers University. — News Desk, Artforum, 27 July 2026 In fact, they were borne out of more practical considerations, said Elizabeth Morton, a planning and urban design consultant who lectures at George Washington University. — Rachel Treisman, NPR, 9 July 2026 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lectures
  1. scolds
  2. speaks
  3. sermons
  4. reprimands
  5. talks
  6. lessons
  7. criticizes
  8. speeches
Verb
  • The audience screams in response, and Scovel scolds them again but this time with a smile.
    — Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture, 11 Aug. 2026
  • In the beginning, Piker wanted to show young men that leftists could be fun — not just woke social-justice warriors and PC scolds.
    — Josh Eells, Rolling Stone, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of scolds
Verb
  • Where the rest of the writing team really came in, during the uncharacteristically 30-minute long segment, was working on a last minute bit in the back half where Kimmel speaks to an FCC commissioner played by Oscar winner Robert De Niro.
    — Marcus Jones, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Visitors are invited to stop, look and choose the one that speaks most directly to them.
    — Sophia Buonpane, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026
Definition of speaks
Noun
  • She was schooled in The African Methodist Pocket Hymn Book and the word-power of sermons.
    — Ian Penman, Harpers Magazine, 4 Aug. 2026
  • Not like brushing shoulders with Lil Baby and Lil Yachty is a musical death sentence (Veeze is still tearing it up), but for a rapper who specialized in free-flowing street sermons, that slight touch of formalism and structure depletes the vibe.
    — Alphonse Pierre, Pitchfork, 29 July 2026
Definition of sermons
Verb
  • The emperor reprimands her for being late for the rainmaking ritual.
    — Lavender Au, The Dial, 30 June 2026
  • His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Jan. 2026
Definition of reprimands
Verb
  • Prize Director Michael Kelleher talks with 2026 Windham-Campbell Prize for Nonfiction recipient Kei Miller about Yuval Noah Harari’s sprawling and sometimes controversial book Sapiens and about how humanity is fiction (and vice-versa).
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • In this encore episode for our Tech Camp series, host Regina Barber talks to Carl Zimmer, a science reporter at The New York Times, about his reporting on mirror cells — and why creating them could lead to devastating consequences for life on Earth.
    — Berly McCoy, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of talks
Noun
  • The lifetime plan includes 52 interactive micro-lessons, 11 core memory skills, 140 virtual loci, unlimited practice attempts, and a distraction-free, ad-free experience.
    — StackCommerce Team, PC Magazine, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Wagh said the speed of change is forcing the military to innovate more quickly and use exercises like Northern Strike to test those lessons before troops encounter them in combat.
    — Olivianna Calmes, FOXNews.com, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of lessons
Verb
  • Summary Digital forensics expert Brett Shavers criticizes how non-practitioners increasingly dictate digital investigation processes, prioritizing administrative metrics over field realities.
    — Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 13 Aug. 2026
  • Arendt criticizes these men but never says that the Jews were responsible for their own destruction.
    — David Denby, New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of criticizes
Noun
  • After their grand entrances, the couple mingled with their guests before sitting down for dinner and speeches.
    — Shelby Wax, Vogue, 14 Aug. 2026
  • Since the June primary, Hilton has been a constant presence on the campaign trail, crisscrossing the state, holding town halls and news conferences, making speeches and giving media interviews.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of speeches

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Cite this Entry

“Lectures.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lectures. Accessed 15 Aug. 2026.

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