scold

1 of 2

verb

ˈskōld 

scolded; scolding; scolds

transitive verb

: to censure usually severely or angrily : rebuke

intransitive verb

1

: to find fault noisily or angrily

2

obsolete : to quarrel noisily

scolder noun

scold

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: one who scolds habitually or persistently

b

dated, sometimes offensive : a woman who disturbs the public peace by noisy and quarrelsome or abusive behavior

2

: scolding

Synonyms of scold

Verb

• reprimand
• lecture
• criticize
• blame
• admonish
• berate
• chastise

Choose the Right Synonym for scold

scold, upbraid, berate, rail, revile, vituperate mean to reproach angrily and abusively.

scold implies rebuking in irritation or ill temper justly or unjustly.

angrily scolding the children

upbraid implies censuring on definite and usually justifiable grounds.

upbraided her assistants for poor research

berate suggests prolonged and often abusive scolding.

berated continually by an overbearing boss

rail (at or against) stresses an unrestrained berating.

railed loudly at their insolence

revile implies a scurrilous, abusive attack prompted by anger or hatred.

an alleged killer reviled in the press

vituperate suggests a violent reviling.

was vituperated for betraying his friends

Examples of scold in a Sentence

Verb

“You should never have done that,” she scolded.

he scolded the kids for not cleaning up the mess they had made in the kitchen

Noun

He can be a bit of a scold sometimes.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

This came after Nick Saban jokingly scolded himself for not fielding Sayin during their weeks-long overlap in 2023’s postseason at Alabama. —Alex Kirshner, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025

This way of peering at screen culture from an inexact distance, which also comes up in a scolding scene where Ethan scrolls aimlessly through something like TikTok, rankles in a play that is otherwise so precise about physical time and space. —Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 31 Oct. 2025

Noun

With trigger-warning culture on the wane and a brutish permissiveness creeping back into society, corporate scolds have lost much of their power. —Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 2 Sep. 2025

Don’t be a scold, don’t be a moaner, don’t be a finger-wagging elitist, don’t be an eco-bore, don’t be a mentally ill homeless guy. —James Parker, The Atlantic, 5 May 2022

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English scald, scold, perhaps of Scandinavian origin; akin to Old Norse skāld poet, skald, Icelandic skālda to make scurrilous verse

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 2

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Rhymes for scold

• bold
• bowled
• cold
• doled
• foaled
• fold
• gold
• hold
• holed
• mould
• old
• poled

Kids Definition

scold

1 of 2 noun

ˈskōld 

: a person who scolds constantly

scold

2 of 2 verb

1

: to find fault noisily or angrily

2

: to criticize severely or angrily