as in scolded
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
there's no need to keelhaul him—it was an honest mistake, and a small one at that
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for keelhauled
Verb
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Lox's reaction to being scolded.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Aug. 2025 -
The government lawyers were frequently scolded by federal judges who dismissed the accusations against Abrego Garcia as baseless and ordered that he be returned to the United States, since he was illegally deported.—
Evan Mealins,
USA Today,
23 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
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Plaza was later reprimanded by showrunner Michael Schur for taking the notes.—
Daysia Tolentino,
EW.com,
1 Sep. 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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We weren’t being lectured to anymore.—
Dominique Fluker,
Essence,
19 Aug. 2025
Verb
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Advertisement Macron alone cannot be blamed for the rising far-right, which is on the march across the West.—
Cole Stangler,
Time,
9 Sep. 2025
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Within months of his release, Brown was charged with assaulting his sister, and according to WSOC-TV, even Brown's mother has blamed the courts for allowing her son to be out in the community.—
Robert Alexander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Keelhauled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/keelhauled. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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