upbraid

verb up·braid \ ˌəp-ˈbrād \

Definition of upbraid

transitive verb

1 :to criticize severely :find fault with

2 :to reproach severely :scold vehemently

—

upbraider

noun

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Examples of upbraid in a Sentence

his wife upbraided him for his irresponsible handling of the family finances

Recent Examples of upbraid from the Web

The elder Crouch became enraged and upbraided her granddaughter, according to court papers.

— matt hamilton, latimes.com, "Trinity Broadcasting must pay full $2-million verdict in molestation scandal, judge rules," 14 June 2017
As a former director of the Voice of America, I was surprised at the current VOA director’s May 26 letter upbraiding the performance of her Mandarin language service chief.

— WSJ, "VOA Should Come Clean on Mandarin Service," 4 June 2017
Cover art: The senator stares straight ahead — hands on hips, the beginnings of a wry smile — as if preparing to upbraid an unruly banker.

— matt flegenheimer, New York Times, "We Read Them So You Don’t Have To: New Books by Senators Al Franken, Elizabeth Warren and Ben Sasse," 2 June 2017
Mom would come home and upbraid Lola for not cleaning the house well enough or for forgetting to bring in the mail.

— krista stevens, Longreads, "Not Really A Distant Aunt: My Family’s Slave," 17 May 2017
Yet Comey's actions -- including publicly upbraiding the former secretary of state for her stewardship of classified information even though she was not charged -- were raucously backed by Trump on the campaign trail.

— stephen collinson, CNN, "America's new post-Comey reality," 10 May 2017
Whenever a late-night host upbraids a public figure in a monologue or a pundit bests another in a Twitter fight, onlookers crowd around to declare the loser DESTROYED! or EVISCERATED! or ETHERED! or ANNIHILATED!

— amanda hess, New York Times, "None of Us Are Safe From Getting ‘Owned’," 28 Mar. 2017
Put aside that upbraiding his female critics is one habit that is very difficult for Trump to break.

— e.j. dionne jr., The Denver Post, "Trump delivers old words in new wrapping," 1 Mar. 2017
The federal appeals court also upbraided U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson, threw out his order that Microsoft be broken into two companies, and removed him from the case.

— declan mccullagh, WIRED, "U.S. vs. MS: It’s Almost Over," 2 Nov. 2001

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

Origin and Etymology of upbraid

Middle English upbreyden, from Old English ūpbregdan, probably from ūp up + bregdan to snatch, move suddenly — more at braid

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First Known Use: 12th century

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upbraid 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, scold

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 upbraid

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