as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
got bawled out by the boss for missing another important deadline
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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 bawl out
Women stopped to bawl out the police, who accepted this dressing-down with quiet embarrassment.
—
National Geographic, 11 Aug. 2020
National Geographic, 11 Aug. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawl out
Verb
-
Whether this comes off as a joke or as an invitation for scolding (spoken or unspoken, loving or otherwise) depends entirely on the other Muslims in the room.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
-
But there was a time Emily Deschanel, who played the meticulous forensic anthropologist through 12 seasons of Bones, got scolded for being just that — and the memory still makes the star emotional.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
12 July 2025
Verb
-
The type of boy to break up fights at school and lecture his fellow classmates, Steeno added.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
9 July 2025
-
The designer published his autobiography, continued to lecture about fashion.—
Laird Borrelli-Persson,
Vogue,
7 July 2025
Verb
-
Officer Juan Gonzalez, a 12-year Miami Gardens police veteran, described being reprimanded for speaking to other Hispanic officers at a crime scene.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
16 July 2025
-
Ruben is sailing across the Atlantic with them (which Duncan rightfully reprimands him for later – like really, who brings a small child across the ocean in a sailboat?).—
Maureen Lee Lenker Published,
EW.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
-
Garza blamed this in part on the county’s failure to provide legal representation at bail hearings for defendants.—
Skye Seipp,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
-
Trump has blamed India's high tariffs on imports for the trade deficit.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
30 July 2025
Verb
-
Instances when the coach chewed out the quarterback for being late on a throw.—
Brad Biggs,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2025
-
But to chew out his boss--Edwin Stanton, secretary of war--would be more than just getting close to the line of insubordination.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Many airlines have long relied on aging computer systems, and the aviation industry has been criticized for failing to modernize swiftly.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
22 July 2025
-
McKinney ruffled some feathers by publicly criticizing former Giants’ defensive coordinator Wink Martindale in his final season with the Giants.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Verb
-
Still, the idea that someone not in the league can get called down from the stands to play in a game on a moment’s notice is one of hockey’s most unique traditions.—
Stephen Whyno,
Twin Cities,
15 July 2025
-
Miles, the Manual student, noted how when she and her fellow bus riders were called down to the office to receive information on the return of transportation, almost all of them were Black.—
Grace Fridy,
The Courier-Journal,
2 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bawl out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawl%20out. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share