Synonyms of dressing-down

dressing-down 1 of 2

noun

as in scolding

Related Words

• scolding
• lecture
• lesson
• talking-to
• tongue-lashing
• punishment
• lash
• castigation
• rap
• chastisement
• admonishment
• damnation
• criticism
• admonition
• remonstrance
• business
• devil
• reprimand
• disparagement
• rebuke
• depreciation
• condemnation
• denunciation
• censure
• pan
• excoriation
• reproof
• deprecation
• belittlement
• reproach
• riot act
• commination
• stricture
• objurgation

Dissimilar Words

• citation
• endorsement
• commendation
• tribute
• praise
• honor
• acclamation
• approval
• eulogy
• encomium
• panegyric
• sanction
• blessing
• plaudit(s)

dressing down

2 of 2

verb

present participle of dress down

as in lecturing

to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings

dressed down for boorish behavior at the dance

Synonyms & Similar Words

• scolding
• lecturing
• calling down
• reprimanding
• ranting (at)
• railing (at or against)
• reaming (out)
• bawling out
• blaming
• criticizing
• chewing out
• laying into
• reading the riot act (to)
• taking to task
• berating
• rating
• upbraiding
• ragging
• attacking
• remonstrating (with)
• scoring
• chastising
• admonishing
• mocking
• basting
• jawing
• flaying
• rebuking
• hammering
• reproaching
• lacing (into)
• faulting
• keelhauling
• castigating
• lambasting
• tongue-lashing
• chiding
• slamming
• lashing
• knocking
• condemning
• panning
• vituperating
• denouncing
• reprehending
• putting down
• crucifying
• reviling
• blasting
• assailing
• reproving
• abusing
• disparaging
• belittling
• haranguing
• scourging
• excoriating
• ridiculing
• censuring
• scoffing
• scorning
• bad-mouthing
• dissing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• approving
• endorsing
• sanctioning
• praising
• extolling
• lauding

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of dressing-down

Noun

And while this dressing-down of beloved works might seem like another bummer in a world of doomscrolling, @heartthrobanderson is anything but. — Jessica Lipsky, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2026

This change comes after Grok received a dressing-down from users and international officials for complying with requests to digitally undress women and underage girls or create sexualized deep fakes of them without their consent. — Jennifer Zhan, Vulture, 9 Jan. 2026

Earlier this year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sat in the Oval Office and endured a brutal dressing-down. — Tom Nagorski, Time, 16 Oct. 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

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

Verb

And there’s a useful distinction between dressing down to make someone else comfortable and being thoughtful about the signals your clothes send. — Morgan Sullivan, Glamour, 29 Sep. 2026

Like Bezos, whose Sun Valley uniform has included jeans with T-shirts and polo shirts, many of the male tech executives are dressing down. — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 10 July 2026

Hardline politicians slammed the president’s unorthodox choice of attire and activists accused him of double standards, where under Iran’s strict dress codes, ordinary people would be barred from dressing down. — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 12 June 2026

The Southern California congresswoman was known for driving a minivan and dressing down CEOs with a white board exposing their financial excesses. — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 2 June 2026

Mullin pulled no punches in dressing down Democrats for the delay. — Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 7 Apr. 2026

During her six-year tenure, Porter often went viral for wielding a whiteboard to emphasize her points while dressing down corporate executives in congressional hearings. — Lia Russell february 19, Sacbee.com, 19 Feb. 2026

The point of dressing down is to show solidarity with those fighting NF, which impacts 1 in every 2,500 people. — Rashad Alexander, Kansas City Star, 14 Feb. 2026

The timeless look is versatile enough for dressing down with a pair of jeans and a sweater or elevating with a maxi dress and some gold jewelry. — Nneya Richards, Travel + Leisure, 1 Oct. 2025