told off

Definition of told offnext
past tense of tell off

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for told off
Verb
  • Chocolate Frosting For chocolate frosting, in a medium saucepan heat salted butter and unsweetened chocolate, cut up, over low until melted.
    Maddy Bendgen, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Mar. 2026
  • The Broward County School Board voted to direct the superintendent to develop a plan to cut up to 3,000 jobs over three years.
    Amanda Rosa, Miami Herald, 10 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • The Burlesque star dressed down her jewels in a effortlessly cool black sweat set.
    Christina Perrier, InStyle, 10 Mar. 2026
  • This off-the-shoulder dress is a solid in-between option, since it can be dressed up with wedges or dressed down with flat sandals.
    Anna Popp, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2026
Verb
  • On that night in March, to the surprise of nobody, Arsenal ran their mid-table Premier League hosts ragged, beating them 5-1, with Henry and Freddie Ljungberg scoring twice, and Kolo Toure netting the other.
    Dan Sheldon, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
Verb
  • Being chewed out was nothing new, part of life as a football player.
    Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
  • 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
Verb
  • In Zambrano’s case, Gee scolded the government over how the detention unfolded.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
  • He is being groomed, playing, testing boundaries and even being scolded which are all part of normal social learning for young macaques.
    Jasmine Baehr, FOXNews.com, 17 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • At a hearing two days after the government dropped its charges against Baraka, the judge upbraided Stephen Demanovich, a federal prosecutor who had been assigned the case.
    Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
  • During cross-examination, he was upbraided for long answers that did not immediately answer the question he had been asked.
    Greg O'Keeffe, New York Times, 9 Nov. 2025
Verb
  • Noem’s dissmissal comes after she was berated by lawmakers on Capitol Hill over a series of disastrous blunders by her department, including the killings of two American citizens by border patrol agents in Minneapolis and apparent attempts by DHS to stifle investigations into the shootings.
    Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, 6 Mar. 2026
  • They were berated with demeaning and misogynistic names.
    Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register, 20 Feb. 2026
Verb
  • Anyone who pushes a person to the tracks with the possibility of a horrific death or injury should be seriously punished.
    Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026
  • Last week, Bay Hill punished mistakes with force.
    Jenny Catlin, New York Times, 12 Mar. 2026
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.

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Told off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/told%20off. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster