as in scolded
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
there's no need to berate someone for making a mistake during the first day on the job
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Recent Examples of berated
The resident berated by the mayor of Dearborn expresses concern about free speech rights.
—
Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Being berated by your boss for your incompetence and having a bunch of strangers laugh at you is true nightmare fuel.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
With his far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, sitting in the front row, Netanyahu took the stage, looking a little peeved, and berated the event’s organizers for muddling his slide show.
—Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
Trump has long berated Britain over its plans to stop drilling new domestic oil and gas, which could help power future AI data centers.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Trump has berated Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for being too slow to lower interest rates to spur growth.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
That occurred after Becky berated Punk in the ring and continually slapped and hit him.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
After the dad walked back over to his son, the woman — also a Phillies fan — who lost the battle walked back over to the family and berated them.
—Alex Krutchik, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Centrist Peronists, Radicals, and deputies responding to provincial governors have also provided support—all while being publicly berated and attacked by the president and his allies.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Niraj Warikoo, Freep.com, 20 Sep. 2025
Being berated by your boss for your incompetence and having a bunch of strangers laugh at you is true nightmare fuel.
—Maggie Fremont, Vulture, 19 Sep. 2025
With his far-right finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, sitting in the front row, Netanyahu took the stage, looking a little peeved, and berated the event’s organizers for muddling his slide show.
—Ruth Margalit, New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2025
Trump has long berated Britain over its plans to stop drilling new domestic oil and gas, which could help power future AI data centers.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 18 Sep. 2025
Trump has berated Fed Chairman Jerome Powell for being too slow to lower interest rates to spur growth.
—Maureen Groppe, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
That occurred after Becky berated Punk in the ring and continually slapped and hit him.
—Matthew Couden, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 Sep. 2025
After the dad walked back over to his son, the woman — also a Phillies fan — who lost the battle walked back over to the family and berated them.
—Alex Krutchik, Miami Herald, 6 Sep. 2025
Centrist Peronists, Radicals, and deputies responding to provincial governors have also provided support—all while being publicly berated and attacked by the president and his allies.
—Agustino Fontevecchia, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for berated
Verb
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Chun also scolded attorneys for Amazon in July for withholding thousands of documents from the FTC and abusing a legal privilege to shield them from scrutiny.—
Annie Palmer,
CNBC,
23 Sep. 2025
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The heartwarming video, shared on Saturday by @inboxunknown15, shows the pup sitting head down, facing the wall, looking sad and ashamed after being scolded by his owner’s girlfriend.—
Maria Azzurra Volpe,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Clarke and his business partner sold photographs and films, wrote and lectured about their adventures, and began treasure hunting.—
Danny Robb,
JSTOR Daily,
26 Sep. 2025
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Vance lectured Zelenskyy and argued the wartime leader hadn’t shown proper gratitude for the billions of dollars in military assistance the United States has given to his country.—
Francesca Chambers,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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There is a form of right-of-center liberalism that is content with status hierarchies, that is very unhappy with anything that makes people feel reprimanded.—
Isaac Chotiner,
New Yorker,
23 Sep. 2025
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The college was being reprimanded amid allegations of antisemitism on campus and activism led in part by Mahmoud Khalil, a foreign student organizing against Israel’s war in Gaza.—
Naomi Lim,
The Washington Examiner,
20 Sep. 2025
Verb
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While some people shared Musk’s enthusiasm, others criticized the decision.—
Amaris Encinas,
USA Today,
7 Oct. 2025
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Some council members have criticized the proposal, citing a lack of communication and calling the move premature.—
Vanessa Swales,
jsonline.com,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Berated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/berated. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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