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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Leon scolded Justice Department attorneys for arguing that the entire project needed to go forward for national security reasons, before previously distinguishing between the bunker below ground and the ballroom above ground.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
16 Apr. 2026
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Government officials scolded young people for the signs of disrespect.—
Justin Spike,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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For years, states such as New York and California have been run by politicians who seem to believe prosperity is permanent — an endless resource to be taxed a little more, regulated a little harder and lectured a little longer.—
Larry Clifton,
Sun Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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Ratmoko is also a photographer, writer, and scholar who has lectured on intercultural communication schools including Yale University and the University of Zurich.—
Sydney Lake,
Fortune,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Kudrow, who starred as the free-spirited Phoebe Buffay, said the writers reprimanded the cast for forgetting lines and spent their off-hours fantasizing about her female co-stars.—
Jack Dunn,
Variety,
28 Apr. 2026
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Jimmy John’s was once reprimanded for making sandwich makers sign them.—
Morris M. Kleiner,
Mercury News,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Gatkhor Dual, an opposition official coordinating aid in Jonglei state, blamed county commissioner James Bol Makuei for blocking humanitarian access.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Apr. 2026
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In a statement, a spokesperson for Angels In The Asylum blamed the closure on the film being unable to resolve financing issues with John Cairns and his company, Parkland Pictures.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
28 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Though the value can be criticized, Love is immediately going to make Arizona’s offense exponentially better.—
Dane Brugler,
New York Times,
27 Apr. 2026
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After the hearing, John Catanzara, president of the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge 7, the union that represents Chicago police officers, harshly criticized the SAFE-T Act and the county’s criminal courts judges who repeatedly released Talley from custody in his prior crimes of violence.—
Caroline Kubzansky,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Chewed out.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/chewed%20out. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
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