as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
I was called down by my supervisor for not catching the accounting error sooner
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Recent Examples of call down
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
Upper apartments, though, were built without kitchens, since their owners might as well call down for room service.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 19 May 2025
Around that same time, Schuyler was called down to Albany to help negotiate a treaty with a group of Native Americans, leaving Brigadier General Richard Montgomery in charge of his forces.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 May 2025
But the game changer, a change in field practices that drove use of force on crisis calls down by 68% over a four-year period, was a different type of training — a mandatory one that Anderson helped craft.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 5 May 2025
The next day the family was called down to the station to pick up Skip.
—Janine Rubenstein, People.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Battling In The Skies The interceptors stand between Ukrainian forces and Russian drones, including reconnaissance drones which call down artillery and rocket fire and attack drones.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Battling In The Skies The interceptors stand between Ukrainian forces and Russian drones, including reconnaissance drones which call down artillery and rocket fire and attack drones.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
But Robbins' life was soon upended when he got called down to the principal’s office at Harriton High School and accused of selling drugs.
—Christine Pelisek, People.com, 24 Mar. 2025
Grace Fridy, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025
Upper apartments, though, were built without kitchens, since their owners might as well call down for room service.
—Adriane Quinlan, Curbed, 19 May 2025
Around that same time, Schuyler was called down to Albany to help negotiate a treaty with a group of Native Americans, leaving Brigadier General Richard Montgomery in charge of his forces.
—Eli Wizevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 May 2025
But the game changer, a change in field practices that drove use of force on crisis calls down by 68% over a four-year period, was a different type of training — a mandatory one that Anderson helped craft.
—Calmatters, Mercury News, 5 May 2025
The next day the family was called down to the station to pick up Skip.
—Janine Rubenstein, People.com, 24 Apr. 2025
Battling In The Skies The interceptors stand between Ukrainian forces and Russian drones, including reconnaissance drones which call down artillery and rocket fire and attack drones.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
Battling In The Skies The interceptors stand between Ukrainian forces and Russian drones, including reconnaissance drones which call down artillery and rocket fire and attack drones.
—David Hambling, Forbes.com, 4 Apr. 2025
But Robbins' life was soon upended when he got called down to the principal’s office at Harriton High School and accused of selling drugs.
—Christine Pelisek, People.com, 24 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for call down
Verb
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Paul Krugman has referred to deficit hawks as ‘deficit scolds’, because the spend more time warning about the dangers of the deficit than fixing it.—
Mike O'Sullivan,
Forbes.com,
28 June 2025
-
Musk and Gor reportedly clashed in Cabinet meetings where Musk scolded Gor over personnel disagreements in recent months.—
Ally Goelz,
The Washington Examiner,
19 June 2025
Verb
-
Amy Lieberman, a politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Lincoln Mitchell, a political strategy and campaign specialist who lectures at Columbia University, to understand what Mamdani’s primary win might indicate about the direction of national politics.—
Lincoln Mitchell,
The Conversation,
27 June 2025
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DuVernay presents the inhumanity of the situation without lecturing the audience or patronizing the subjects, instead providing an honest portrait of the fear, hope, and lost time that the Central Park Five experienced as the result of a profoundly broken justice system.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
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Dan Baltic, a co-founder in New Ritual Press and one of tonight’s readers, remembers being reprimanded in 2019 in a writing workshop by a woman who was appalled by the alt-right protagonist of his debut novel, Nutcrankr.—
John McDermott,
Rolling Stone,
6 July 2025
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Though city reprimanded the protesters, the group dissolved shortly after.—
Calista Oetama
July 3,
Sacbee.com,
3 July 2025
Verb
-
Chemical residue can be a primary cause of stiff towels and products like fabric softener can often be to blame.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
6 July 2025
-
Palestinians are collectively blamed for not saying or doing things many have been saying and doing.—
Micah Danney,
New York Daily News,
5 July 2025
Verb
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Political dynamics: DeSantis criticized the Florida House for delaying condo relief legislation, while House Speaker Daniel Perez defended the decision to address the issue during the regular session, highlighting the collaborative effort between the House and Senate.—
Miami Herald Archives,
Miami Herald,
9 July 2025
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The feud between the two was reignited after Musk criticized Trump’s big legislative package of tax reductions and Medicaid cuts, which passed Congress last week.—
Rebecca Morin,
USA Today,
8 July 2025
Verb
-
Bailey dressed down in a casual look which featured white jeans, a blue denim button-down shirt, a dark brown blazer and baseball hat.—
Jay Stahl,
USA Today,
19 June 2025
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They were given lectures on the First Amendment and dressed down on their language and behavior.—
Deborah Baker
June 3,
Literary Hub,
3 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Call down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/call%20down. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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