as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
the coach chews out even the stars of the team if they fail to show up for practice
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Recent Examples of chew out
About eight or nine hours into a punishing shoot, nerves were fraying, and Mike McGuirk was getting chewed out by a camera operator.
—
Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Instances when the coach chewed out the quarterback for being late on a throw.
—Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
But to chew out his boss--Edwin Stanton, secretary of war--would be more than just getting close to the line of insubordination.
—arkansasonline.com, 12 Feb. 2025
Judge is chewing out the parties.
—Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
We're used to seeing movies with grizzled white guys playing leathery military men chewing out their platoons on the regular.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
There’s also a story line of Harper being chewed out by Petra when Petra finds out how Harper actually got the information necessary to short Pierpoint, i.e., illegally.
—Nina Li Coomes, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2024
In 2017, the Usos chewed out The New Day in a lyrical skirmish during Monday Night Raw.
—Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2023
In the following scene, which marks a turning point between Emily and Luke, Emily chews out Luke for pushing a deal that ends up costing their firm $25 million.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2023
Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Instances when the coach chewed out the quarterback for being late on a throw.
—Brad Biggs, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2025
But to chew out his boss--Edwin Stanton, secretary of war--would be more than just getting close to the line of insubordination.
—arkansasonline.com, 12 Feb. 2025
Judge is chewing out the parties.
—Michael Gfoeller and David H. Rundell, Newsweek, 16 Jan. 2025
We're used to seeing movies with grizzled white guys playing leathery military men chewing out their platoons on the regular.
—Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 21 Dec. 2024
There’s also a story line of Harper being chewed out by Petra when Petra finds out how Harper actually got the information necessary to short Pierpoint, i.e., illegally.
—Nina Li Coomes, Vulture, 22 Sep. 2024
In 2017, the Usos chewed out The New Day in a lyrical skirmish during Monday Night Raw.
—Carl Lamarre, Billboard, 21 Nov. 2023
In the following scene, which marks a turning point between Emily and Luke, Emily chews out Luke for pushing a deal that ends up costing their firm $25 million.
—Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 6 Oct. 2023
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chew out
Verb
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At dinner, while the new wife served beef Stroganoff or lemon Jell-O with mandarin oranges, my father would scold me about my new friends and my falling grades.—
Richard Siken
August 26,
Literary Hub,
26 Aug. 2025
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Halfway through his sentence, the president stopped to scold the disrupter.—
Charlotte Phillipp,
People.com,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
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Faculty across the state rebuked it as an infringement on academic freedom and warned of a mass chilling effect on free speech and lecturing on divisive topics.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Geier, who has a bachelor’s degree in biology, has also been reprimanded by the Maryland Board of Physicians for practicing medicine without a medical license.—
Sarah Owermohle,
CNN Money,
4 Sep. 2025
-
Plaza was later reprimanded by showrunner Michael Schur for taking the notes.—
Daysia Tolentino,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The site, which had hundreds of thousands of subscribers at the time of its closure, blamed users for breaking its rules.—
Sophie Tanno,
CNN Money,
29 Aug. 2025
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Republicans will blame Democrats as being the only people in America to burn flags in protest.—
Joshua Sammons,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Wall Street analysts also criticized the rapid shift in permanent leadership at Nestle.—
Chloe Taylor,Ganesh Rao,
CNBC,
2 Sep. 2025
-
Some have criticized the use of local and state police for federal work.—
Anna Giaritelli,
The Washington Examiner,
2 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Women stopped to bawl out the police, who accepted this dressing-down with quiet embarrassment.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
11 Aug. 2020
Verb
-
Stokes apparently called down to Bell, who answered.—
Rachel Wolf,
FOXNews.com,
12 Aug. 2025
-
Tax cuts and spending cuts have to go hand in hand, otherwise the cycle starts all over again as deficit spending goes up and tax hikes come calling down the road to plug the hole.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
23 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Chew out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chew%20out. Accessed 7 Sep. 2025.
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