scold

play

noun \ ˈskōld \

Definition of scold

1 a :one who scolds habitually or persistently

b :a woman who disturbs the public peace by noisy and quarrelsome or abusive behavior

2 :scolding

See scold defined for English-language learners

See scold defined for kids

Examples of scold in a Sentence

He can be a bit of a scold sometimes.

Recent Examples of scold from the Web

Horror? Pitiless tsk-tsking from snooty British scolds?

— maria puente, USA TODAY, "Modesty be darned! Women's slip sales are slipping.," 6 July 2017
Meanwhile, Cosby became an elder statesman in the black community and at times a scold who, in one famous speech, didn't shrink from telling young men to pull up their pants.

— corky siemaszko, NBC News, "The Saga of Bill Cosby: From America’s Dad to Accused Sexual Abuser," 18 June 2017
But he can't be dismissed as just another hypocrite scold.

— randy dotinga, The Christian Science Monitor, "'Benjamin Franklin' takes a more nuanced look at Franklin's views of God," 7 June 2017
Brown’s entertaining rhetoric itself made him sound, as usual, like a skinflint, a penny-pinching scold.

— george skelton, latimes.com, "While California spends liberally, the governor talks like a penny-pincher," 15 May 2017
Here, she's forced to play straight woman and scold to Schumer's raunchy free spirit, bumbling her way through life-or-death confrontations and her own budding cultural sensitivity.

— the washington post, NOLA.com, "'Snatched' movie review: Goldie Hawn, Amy Schumer team up for mother/daughter comedy," 12 May 2017
It should be noted that Carter has long been a Clinton scold and skeptic.

— jeet heer, New Republic, "Jimmy Carter took his sweet time endorsing Bernie Sanders.," 9 May 2017
Her backup dancers at the New York gay pride parade. Warren Beatty as condescending scold.

— joe coscarelli, New York Times, "Dancers in Madonna’s ‘Truth or Dare’ Had Truths of Their Own APRIL 13, 2016," 25 Aug. 2016
In the Senate, Ms. Warren’s role has been more of an effective scold than a legislative heavyweight.

— jennifer steinhauer, New York Times, "Clinton and Trump Have Terrible Approval Ratings. Does It Matter?," 9 June 2016

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

Origin and Etymology of scold

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

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First Known Use: 12th century

See Words from the same year

scold

verb

Definition of scold

intransitive verb

1 obsolete :to quarrel noisily

2 :to find fault noisily or angrily

transitive verb

:to censure severely or angrily :rebuke

—

scolder

noun

See scold defined for English-language learners

Examples of scold in a Sentence

“You should never have done that,” she scolded.
he scolded the kids for not cleaning up the mess they had made in the kitchen

Recent Examples of scold from the Web

The president has repeatedly scolded McConnell for the Senate GOP’s failure to enact health-care legislation and for insisting on maintaining occasionally inconvenient traditions like the legislative filibuster.

— ed kilgore, Daily Intelligencer, "The Trump-McConnell Feud Becoming a ‘Cold War’," 22 Aug. 2017
Board president Mark Kelly scolded board member Matthew Ryan Hunt, who is gay, for supporting the two students in a Facebook post last week, rather than handling the matter quietly.

— mará rose williams, kansascity, "Human Rights Campaign slams Kearney School District on Facebook over yearbook fiasco," 17 Aug. 2017
The two former England managers continued their feud through their respective clubs, with one incident even resulting in Mullery coated in scolding hot coffee by a Palace supporter following a controversial FA Cup first round victory for the Eagles.

— SI.com, "Eagles vs Seagulls: The Rivalry Between Crystal Palace & Brighton and it's Recent History," 9 Aug. 2017
A federal judge in Orlando has scolded attorneys for Darden Restaurants for filing a document was too long, in a court battle with the EEOC.

— paul brinkmann, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Judge scolds Darden's Seasons 52 over line-spacing," 31 July 2017
Federal oversight Federal courts have already scolded Texas for intentional discrimination in three rulings this year.

— by jim malewitz, star-telegram, "At tail end of Texas redistricting trial, judges skeptical of voting-map defense," 16 July 2017
A fetching redhead who scolds against lighting up with a saucy wave of her finger, Lee's causing turbulence on the Internet.

— jennifer brett, ajc, "Who is Deltalina? Flashback to 2008," 16 July 2017
Others pointed out that members of Congress have been scolded too, as when Representative Bobby Rush was kicked off the floor for wearing a hoodie to honor Trayvon Martin.

— david a. graham, The Atlantic, "Why Bogus News Stories Are So Hard to Stop," 13 July 2017
Apparently Gemma Whelan, known better to fans as Yara Greyjoy, was once scolded for simply revealing her own casting news too soon.

— laura bradley, vanityfair.com, "Watch Kit Harington Audition for Every Part in Game of Thrones," 11 July 2017

First Known Use of scold

14th century

scold Synonyms

Synonyms

baste, bawl out, berate, 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, score, tongue-lash, upbraid, lay into, read the riot act (to), take to task

Related Words

admonish, chide, remonstrate (with), reprove; 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

Near Antonyms

approve, endorse (also indorse), sanction; extol (also extoll), laud, praise

Synonym Discussion of 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

SCOLD Defined for English Language Learners

scold

play

noun

Definition of scold for English Language Learners

: a person who often criticizes other people in an angry way : someone who scolds other people too often

scold

verb

Definition of scold for English Language Learners

: to speak in an angry or critical way to (someone who has done something wrong)

SCOLD Defined for Kids

scold

play

verb \ ˈskōld \

Definition of scold for Students

scolded; scolding

:to find fault with or criticize in an angry way

Claudia … scolded him about the need to eat properly.
—E. L. Konigsburg, Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler

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scolding

noun

scold

noun

Definition of scold for Students

:a person who frequently criticizes and blames

Learn More about scold

See words that rhyme with scold Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for scold Spanish Central: Translation of scold Nglish: Translation of scold for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of scold for Arabic speakers

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scolder

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SCOLD Defined for English Language Learners

scold

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scold

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SCOLD Defined for Kids

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