as in scolded
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 chewed out
Being chewed out was nothing new, part of life as a football player.
—
Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
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
Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for chewed out
Verb
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Students sat in rows, making faces at each other, scolded by their teachers to behave.—
David Wilson,
Daily News,
7 Jan. 2026
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Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders scolded the media on Sunday after the team’s close loss to the Buffalo Bills at home.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
22 Dec. 2025
Verb
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Michael Woroniecki lectured about Satan being a very powerful force.—
Caroline Blair,
PEOPLE,
17 Jan. 2026
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If someone senses they’re being lectured or criticized, their walls will go up, and the conversation will stall.—
Devon Kuntzman,
CNBC,
16 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Dorsainvil recalled also being reprimanded for promoting an event at the center via a billboard and for speaking with media.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
28 Jan. 2026
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The law banning smoking in restaurants hadn’t yet taken effect, but Wheeler reprimanded him anyway.—
Nell Freudenberger,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In a comparable case in the United States in 2023, a federal judge imposed $5,000 fines on two lawyers and a law firm after ChatGPT was blamed for their submission of fictitious legal research in an aviation injury claim.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
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The order echoes the administration’s January 2025 action, which blamed California’s environmental and water‑management policies for intensifying wildfires and authorized federal agencies to override state water restrictions and accelerate environmental waivers.—
James Ward,
USA Today,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Chinese state media criticized the H20 for lacking technological prowess and being environmentally unfriendly, with regulators eventually halting imports over security concerns.—
Joe Toscano,
Forbes.com,
26 Jan. 2026
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Liston questioned why Pretti was carrying a handgun — which appeared to be removed from its holster by an officer just before the shooting — and Baisley criticized Minneapolis’ local leadership and immigrants without proper legal status.—
Seth Klamann,
Denver Post,
26 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chewed out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chewed%20out. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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