as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
there's no need to berate someone for making a mistake during the first day on the job
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Recent Examples of berate
Chris Finch, assistant Micah Nori and several players berated the crew of James Capers, Tyler Ford and Mark Lindsay for much of the fourth quarter as the Thunder pulled away.
—
Anthony Slater, New York Times, 21 May 2025
But Dowdell says that some of its tell-tale signs include intimidation, belittling, berating, bad-mouthing, mocking, yelling or cursing at someone, humiliation, name-calling, constant criticisms and threatening.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 15 May 2025
As Carl berates the rookie about checking the other room, a gunman comes in firing, leaving all three men in a pool of blood.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 May 2025
Medvedev, now a top security official, was responding to President Donald Trump's post on Truth Social berating his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as Moscow continued to rain strikes down on its neighbor.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC news, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for berate
Anthony Slater, New York Times, 21 May 2025
But Dowdell says that some of its tell-tale signs include intimidation, belittling, berating, bad-mouthing, mocking, yelling or cursing at someone, humiliation, name-calling, constant criticisms and threatening.
—Daryl Austin, USA Today, 15 May 2025
As Carl berates the rookie about checking the other room, a gunman comes in firing, leaving all three men in a pool of blood.
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 29 May 2025
Medvedev, now a top security official, was responding to President Donald Trump's post on Truth Social berating his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, as Moscow continued to rain strikes down on its neighbor.
—Astha Rajvanshi, NBC news, 28 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for berate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for berate
Verb
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After the period, the TNT crew scolded Luostarinen for not keeping his stick on the ice.—
Jordan McPherson,
Miami Herald,
15 June 2025
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The estranged wife of actor Scott Wolf was seemingly detained by law enforcement during an Instagram livestream, during which she can be heard scolding officers and alleging she was abused.—
Jessica Schladebeck,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2025
Verb
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What follows is a series of painful-to-watch confrontations between the two, in which Ace reprimands Amaya for normal human behavior, like expecting the guy who chose her to show some romantic interest, in the low, measured tone of a psychopath.—
Kathleen Walsh,
Vulture,
11 June 2025
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Manford was reprimanded for the incident; a male coworker who had done something similar a month before faced no repercussions, according to court documents.—
Caroline Zimmerman,
Kansas City Star,
6 June 2025
Verb
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Rather than lecturing, Kahn recommends guiding them to draw their own conclusions.—
Lydia Wang,
Parents,
20 May 2025
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Trump stated during his big speech on the trip that his administration was not there to lecture the region on how to deal with its affairs.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
16 May 2025
Verb
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Several Make America Great Again (MAGA) figures, such as Laura Loomer, are criticizing Democratic Minnesota Governor Tim Walz over his ties to the suspect in Saturday's deadly shooting.—
Mandy Taheri
Hollie Silverman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 June 2025
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Dominican born, and now a U.S. citizen, Almanzar criticized the flurry of ICE arrests across the city.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Berate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/berate. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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