From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishexpostulateex‧pos‧tu‧late /ɪkˈspɒstʃəleɪt $ -ˈspɑː-/ verb [intransitive] formal EXPRESSto express strong disapproval, disagreement, or annoyance with someone —expostulation /ɪkˌspɒstʃəˈleɪʃən $ -ˌspɑː-/ noun [countable, uncountable]→ See Verb table
Examples from the Corpus
expostulate• Breeze looked up, meaning to expostulate, but was silenced by what she saw in her sister's face.• Now and again one would try to expostulate with the man in white but it was no good; nobody was listening.Origin expostulate (1500-1600) Latin past participle of expostulare, from postulare “to ask for” 