as in lecturing
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
dressed down for boorish behavior at the dance
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in scolding
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Recent Examples of dressing-down
Naz Beheshti, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Nothing, perhaps, has grated more than last month’s Oval Office dressing-down of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
—Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
Donald Trump’s dressing-down of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House was a lightning strike to the transatlantic alliance, dispelling lingering illusions in Europe about whether their American cousin will stand with them to counter Russian aggression.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2025
Victoria expects that Tim — her confident, successful, morally upright husband — will give this phony guru a good dressing-down.
—Noel Murray, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Kyiv have risen to a boiling point, culminating in a spectacular public dressing-down of Ukraine’s Zelenskyy last Friday by U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Nine goals, a 30-minute hat-trick, an unlikely comeback, a last-gasp winner, comedic errors and a dressing-down on the pitch at full-time, all played out in teeming rain in Lisbon, made this a night to remember.
—Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Alison Willmore, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
Staying Grounded Under Fire: How to Lead with Emotional Resilience
One client faced a public dressing-down from his boss during a project meeting.
—Naz Beheshti, Forbes.com, 8 Sep. 2025
Nothing, perhaps, has grated more than last month’s Oval Office dressing-down of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
—Ned Temko, Christian Science Monitor, 12 June 2025
Donald Trump’s dressing-down of Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House was a lightning strike to the transatlantic alliance, dispelling lingering illusions in Europe about whether their American cousin will stand with them to counter Russian aggression.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 30 Mar. 2025
Victoria expects that Tim — her confident, successful, morally upright husband — will give this phony guru a good dressing-down.
—Noel Murray, New York Times, 24 Mar. 2025
Meanwhile, tensions between Washington and Kyiv have risen to a boiling point, culminating in a spectacular public dressing-down of Ukraine’s Zelenskyy last Friday by U.S. officials, including President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance.
—Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 3 Mar. 2025
Nine goals, a 30-minute hat-trick, an unlikely comeback, a last-gasp winner, comedic errors and a dressing-down on the pitch at full-time, all played out in teeming rain in Lisbon, made this a night to remember.
—Tim Spiers, The Athletic, 21 Jan. 2025
Noun
For the first stretch of Erupcja, Charli almost dissolves into the screen, not like an outsize personality who’s dressing down for a part, but like someone who isn’t able to repurpose her considerable ability to hold our attention — or to give us any sense of what’s on her character’s mind.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for dressing-down
Verb
-
Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The impulse to criticize, lecture, or clamp down hard comes from a place of pain.—
Robyn Koslowitz,
Parents,
19 Sep. 2025
-
At the other end of the bar, Don was smirking as though looking forward to the lecture Odette was going to give Charlie.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The same woman Don had been lecturing about beer.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
-
The following photos feature him reading on a train, posing with students, standing next to a sculpture and lecturing in front of the class.—
Ilana Kaplan,
PEOPLE,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Throughout every stage, BBK’s commitment to small cohorts, personalized feedback, and monthly leadership lessons fosters a studio culture that values process over perfection, encouraging collaboration, creative risk-taking, and continuous growth.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
23 Sep. 2025
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Always showing up is the biggest lesson that my dad instilled in me.—
Heran Mamo,
Billboard,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Never underestimate the combined powers of a Liv Benson talking-to and a New York slice.—
Kimberly Roots,
TVLine,
16 Jan. 2025
-
Roberts pulled the reliever in, gave him what seemed like a fatherly talking-to, and – after Ramirez got out of the inning with the very next pitch – noted that sometimes the best course is not to yell and scream at a player.—
Mirjam Swanson,
Orange County Register,
30 May 2024
Noun
-
Henrikson questions the severity of Rupert’s punishment.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
26 Sep. 2025
-
To censor the very voices trying to find common ground and express their humanity, is wrong, ineffective, and a form of collective punishment.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Meanwhile, Dreaming Eli was more pared back with three, eyebrow-scraping top lashes, choosing length over volume.—
Essence,
Essence,
23 Sep. 2025
-
The star of her makeup look is her dreamy lavender eyeshadow, topping off the look with a couple rhinestones on the corners of her eye and bottom lash line.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
21 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Like legions of dreamers before him, McGuirk started on film and TV sets as a PA, an often thankless job where random castigations from members of the cast or crew can be par for the course.—
Katie Kilkenny,
HollywoodReporter,
4 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dressing-down.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/dressing-down. Accessed 30 Sep. 2025.
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