berate

verb be·rate \ bi-ˈrāt , bē- \

|Updated on: 18 Jun 2018

Tip: Synonym Guide

Examples: berate in a Sentence

Editor's Note: berate and Rate

Definition of berate

berated; berating; berates

transitive verb

: to scold or condemn vehemently and at length

being berated by her parents when she came home late

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Examples of berate in a Sentence

there's no need to berate someone for making a mistake during the first day on the job

Recent Examples of berate from the Web

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had no answer Wednesday for how the verification of the denuclearization of North Korea might occur, instead berating the reporter who asked the question.

— kathryn watson, CBS News, "Pompeo berates reporter for question about verifying North Korea denuclearization," 13 June 2018
The couple had argued because Dwight Jones was berating his son for his performance at school basketball practice.

— anne ryman, azcentral, "9 years of fear: Ex-wife of Scottsdale-area shooter describes him as her 'personal terrorist'," 12 June 2018
Two days ago, the New York Times reported that President Trump berated Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation.

— jonathan chait, Daily Intelligencer, "Trump Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop Obstructing Justice," 31 May 2018
The Times reported in September that Trump berated Sessions so much after special counsel Robert Mueller was appointed in May 2017 that Sessions tried to quit.

— emily stewart, Vox, "Trump says he wishes he hadn’t picked Jeff Sessions as attorney general," 30 May 2018
After the Capital Improvement Plan was voted on and passed, the mayor proceeded to yell at and berate the resident and alderman who brought up the concerns.

— Lake County News-Sun, "Talk of the County: President Trump is not a liar," 24 May 2018
Former employees told Carreyrou that Balwani was both a flashy and overbearing presence, driving exotic cars and frequently berating employees.

— david z. morris, Fortune, "At Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes Didn’t Work Alone," 19 May 2018
But this one is also a Hall of Fame Frank Costanza moment: Steinbrenner tells George’s parents their son is dead and Frank berates the owner for trading Jay Buhner. 2.

— charles curtis, For The Win, "The definitive ranking of the 44 all-time greatest 'Seinfeld' sports moments," 14 May 2018
Tuesday's meeting marks her first public event on cyberbullying, a choice some observers have questioned given that her husband often berates people on Twitter.

— editors, USA TODAY, "5 things you need to know Tuesday," 20 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'berate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

berate and Rate

Berate and rate can both mean "to scold angrily or violently." This sense of rate was first recorded in the 14th century, roughly two centuries before the now more familiar (and etymologically unrelated) rate meaning "to estimate the value of." We know that berate was probably formed by combining be and the older rate, but the origins of this particular rate itself are somewhat more obscure. We can trace the word back to the Middle English form raten, but beyond that things get a little murky. It's possible that rate, and by extension berate, derives from the same ancient word that led to the Swedish rata (meaning "to find blame, despise") and earlier the Old Norse hrata ("to fall, stagger"), but this is uncertain.

First Known Use of berate

1548

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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berate Synonyms

Synonyms

bawl out, call down, castigate, chastise, chew out, dress down, flay, hammer, jaw, keelhaul, lambaste (or lambast), lecture, rag, rail (at or against), rant (at), rate, ream (out), rebuke, reprimand, reproach, scold, score, tongue-lash, upbraid;

Near Antonyms

approve, endorse (also indorse), sanction;

extol (also extoll), laud, praise;

abuse, assail, attack, bad-mouth, blame, blast, censure, condemn, criticize, crucify, denounce, dis (also diss) [slang], excoriate, fault, harangue, knock, lace (into), lash, pan, reprehend, revile, scourge, slam, vituperate;

belittle, disparage, mock, put down;

ridicule, scoff, scorn;

Phrases

lay into, read the riot act (to), take to task;

Synonym Discussion of berate

scold, upbraid, berate, rail, revile, vituperate mean to reproach angrily and abusively. scold implies rebuking in irritation or ill temper justly or unjustly.