as in to rail (at or against)
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Recent Examples of tell off
Lombardi had voiced her concerns about the impact of the Blue Angels flying over Seattle in 2023, telling off the squadron in an expletive-laden tirade.
—
Janhvi Bhojwani, NBC news, 24 July 2025
Season three will include toxic men (pretends to be shocked!), Marciano’s story being questioned (clutching my pearls!), and Taylor telling off her mom (wait, actually, yes, please).
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Rivera’s sharp sense of style, hanging out and making plans, eating sticky rice and ketchup, telling off old boyfriends and listening to music.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
Moo's hilarious response to being told off is a textbook example of this temperament.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Maybe Simón was a malcontent who told off manager Clayton McCullough.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Stephen King made a surprise return to X on Feb. 20 to tell off President Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of which owns the social media platform.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025
Deliverance is a game about being told off for sleeping in other people's beds.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
Janhvi Bhojwani, NBC news, 24 July 2025
Season three will include toxic men (pretends to be shocked!), Marciano’s story being questioned (clutching my pearls!), and Taylor telling off her mom (wait, actually, yes, please).
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Rivera’s sharp sense of style, hanging out and making plans, eating sticky rice and ketchup, telling off old boyfriends and listening to music.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
Moo's hilarious response to being told off is a textbook example of this temperament.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Maybe Simón was a malcontent who told off manager Clayton McCullough.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Stephen King made a surprise return to X on Feb. 20 to tell off President Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of which owns the social media platform.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025
Deliverance is a game about being told off for sleeping in other people's beds.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tell off
Verb
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Trane says this approach can cut up to 25% of energy use and reduce emissions by as much as 40%.—
Ron Schmelzer,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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One Yelp reviewer claimed employees will often cut up toppings on the spot, ensuring freshness.—
Greg Mellen,
Oc Register,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Women stopped to bawl out the police, who accepted this dressing-down with quiet embarrassment.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
11 Aug. 2020
Verb
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About eight or nine hours into a punishing shoot, nerves were fraying, and Mike McGuirk was getting chewed out by a camera operator.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
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Instances when the coach chewed out the quarterback for being late on a throw.—
Brad Biggs,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2025
Verb
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The players had looked ragged, insecure and vulnerable tactically.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
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The incline left my legs burning and my breath ragged, and my pace slowed despite my best efforts.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
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For the first stretch of Erupcja, Charli almost dissolves into the screen, not like an outsize personality who’s dressing down for a part, but like someone who isn’t able to repurpose her considerable ability to hold our attention — or to give us any sense of what’s on her character’s mind.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
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While everyone else is dressing up, Sabally is dressing down, in the best way: a cool, '90s Princess Diana kind of way.—
Tiana Randall,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
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And groups are also arguing that the department could utilize the new rules to coerce or punish organizations, as well as state and city government’s, over policy disagreements.—
Adam S. Minsky,
Forbes.com,
19 Sep. 2025
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Professors who punish students for defending America are authoritarian.—
Ayaan Hirsi Ali,
MSNBC Newsweek,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
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In Part 2, viewers see Morticia scold her children for lying to her, yet Morticia is keeping secrets from Wednesday about her past and family.—
Carly Thomas,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Horn has never been shy about jawing at his offensive teammates in practice.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
18 Sep. 2025
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The two seemingly began jawing at each other as players huddled up.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
3 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tell off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tell%20off. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.
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