Did you know?
Berate and Rate
People have berated things—and each other—for time immemorial, but the word berate has only been known to English users since the mid-1500s. Before that, if you wanted to angrily rebuke, say, an outlaw for impersonating a fortune teller in order to steal the golden hubcaps off your royal carriage, you would rate them. Berate simply added the prefix be- to the existing verb rate, which is distinct from the rate that means “to value or esteem.” While the more familiar rate comes ultimately from Latin, the origins of the less common “scolding” rate are obscure.
Examples of berate in a Sentence
Bryan Mena,
CNN Money,
30 June 2026
The president was berating the four people that voted for the War Powers Act.
—
CBS News,
28 June 2026
After coming under fire for publicly berating a TV journalist on social media, Paget Brewster has deleted the damning post and apologized.
—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
21 June 2026
Now, the girls' mother is sharing her thoughts on the video, in which one of Brodsky's daughters could be seen crying and huddling close to their father while the other man continued to berate them.
—
Bailey Richards,
PEOPLE,
20 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for berate
Cite this Entry
“Berate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/berate. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
berate
verb
