1
as in newspaper
a publication that appears at regular intervals
the local rag publishes more gossip than news
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2
as in clothing
rags plural
covering for the human body
the girls showed up at the prom wearing their most elegant rags
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as in prank
a playful or mischievous act intended as a joke
a collegiate rag that nearly got him sent down from Oxford
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as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
several readers called in to rag the editor for his paper's repeated grammatical lapses
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of rag
Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 12 July 2025
Faux plants: Fake plants attract dust and need regularly cleaning by a wipe down from a wet rag.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 7 July 2025
Hilton Als, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Ppl rag on him for his bleached hair and ppl call him a tool.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rag
Noun
Inside the green cloth was a pine box, shut with tape and containing a pocket knife, a feather, grass, sage, lavender, tobacco and a rag — which wrapped around the dismembered big toe, per the Kent Reporter.
—Brenton Blanchet, People.com, 12 July 2025
Faux plants: Fake plants attract dust and need regularly cleaning by a wipe down from a wet rag.
—Ashlyn Needham, Southern Living, 7 July 2025
Verb
Roberts, who often looked to me like an English schoolboy—rumpled shirt, rep tie—had worked with Tina to transform the British magazine Tatler from a staid society rag into a place of mischief.
—Hilton Als, New Yorker, 2 June 2025
Ppl rag on him for his bleached hair and ppl call him a tool.
—Megan Cartwright, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for rag
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rag
Verb
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Whether this comes off as a joke or as an invitation for scolding (spoken or unspoken, loving or otherwise) depends entirely on the other Muslims in the room.—
Hanif Abdurraqib,
New Yorker,
13 July 2025
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But there was a time Emily Deschanel, who played the meticulous forensic anthropologist through 12 seasons of Bones, got scolded for being just that — and the memory still makes the star emotional.—
EW.com,
EW.com,
12 July 2025
Verb
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The type of boy to break up fights at school and lecture his fellow classmates, Steeno added.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
9 July 2025
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The designer published his autobiography, continued to lecture about fashion.—
Laird Borrelli-Persson,
Vogue,
7 July 2025
Verb
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Officer Juan Gonzalez, a 12-year Miami Gardens police veteran, described being reprimanded for speaking to other Hispanic officers at a crime scene.—
Milena Malaver,
Miami Herald,
16 July 2025
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Ruben is sailing across the Atlantic with them (which Duncan rightfully reprimands him for later – like really, who brings a small child across the ocean in a sailboat?).—
Maureen Lee Lenker Published,
EW.com,
30 June 2025
Verb
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Trump has blamed India's high tariffs on imports for the trade deficit.—
Omkar Khandekar,
NPR,
30 July 2025
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Garza blamed this in part on the county’s failure to provide legal representation at bail hearings for defendants.—
Skye Seipp,
Austin American Statesman,
30 July 2025
Verb
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Many airlines have long relied on aging computer systems, and the aviation industry has been criticized for failing to modernize swiftly.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
22 July 2025
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McKinney ruffled some feathers by publicly criticizing former Giants’ defensive coordinator Wink Martindale in his final season with the Giants.—
Rob Reischel,
Forbes.com,
21 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Rag.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rag. Accessed 4 Aug. 2025.
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