Synonyms of berates

berates

verb

present tense third-person singular of berate

as in scolds

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

• scolds
• reprimands
• criticizes
• lectures
• blames
• chastises
• upbraids
• admonishes
• castigates
• lambastes
• rebukes
• mocks
• flays
• chides
• reproaches
• calls down
• bastes
• dresses down
• rags
• bawls out
• rails (at or against)
• scores
• jaws
• attacks
• reams (out)
• lays into
• faults
• rants (at)
• hammers
• takes to task
• chews out
• slams
• denounces
• rates
• excoriates
• condemns
• reads the riot act (to)
• assails
• keelhauls
• crucifies
• reproves
• reviles
• belittles
• tongue-lashes
• disparages
• ridicules
• knocks
• harangues
• remonstrates (with)
• scoffs
• scorns
• pans
• bad-mouths
• abuses
• censures
• blasts
• lashes
• disses
• laces (into)
• reprehends
• scourges
• vituperates
• puts down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• approves
• endorses
• sanctions
• praises
• extols
• lauds

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of berates

Lizzie’s father, meanwhile, stands by quietly as his wife berates both his daughter and the family maid, Margaret, at dinner that evening. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026

But the real anger belongs to the narrator herself, who berates herself for bringing a succession of troubled men into her son’s life. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 9 July 2026

And Vance berates Democrats in a visit to Minneapolis. — Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 23 Jan. 2026

Cast members performed on The Tonight Show and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, in a sketch in which host Bad Bunny berates his friends for failing to grasp the movie’s brilliance. — Eliza Berman, Time, 9 Dec. 2025

Flies buzz around my ears; a distant dog berates a passing motorbike. — Hannah Foster-Roe, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 Nov. 2025

The president publicly berates reporters — often female ones — for cheap laughs several times a week, and is met with little more than shrugs. — Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle, 14 Oct. 2025

In another clip, his mother berates Pormanove over the phone for letting the co-streamers shave off parts of his hair. — Philippe Cordier, CNN Money, 20 Aug. 2025