as in scolds
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
got bawled out by the boss for missing another important deadline
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bawls out
Verb
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On our hike, Jessie Krebs scolds her boots for sliding on a slick, house-size boulder.—
Andrew McKean,
Outdoor Life,
19 Mar. 2026 -
While some online scolds didn’t like Johnson’s profanity, this has played well in Chicago, a city that has been ravenous for a winning Bears team since the 20th Super Bowl.—
Jon Greenberg,
New York Times,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The van’s speakers played a high-volume mashup of construction sounds, Jordan Peterson lectures, Marine Corps drills, and mumbling voices.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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Assistive listening studies report that bypassing room acoustics and delivering audio directly can improve signal‑to‑noise ratios by 15–20 dB, making announcements comprehensible and lectures clearer [8].—
IEEE Spectrum,
IEEE Spectrum,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Schiavo raised a similar concern, noting that the National Transportation Safety Board regularly criticizes the Federal Aviation Administration and other regulators for not implementing obvious solutions, even after accidents occur.—
Zach Wichter,
USA Today,
25 Mar. 2026
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Gigerenzer criticizes them as ethically problematic and argues that public policy should emphasize education over subtle choice manipulation.—
Alejandro Hortal-Sánchez,
The Conversation,
24 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Each nation blames the other for starting the fighting that flared in July and December.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
23 Mar. 2026
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The historian blames lil T’s shift from team player to lone wolf.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
17 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Bawls out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bawls%20out. Accessed 31 Mar. 2026.
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