rail 1 of 2

1
as in railing
a protective barrier consisting of a horizontal bar and its supports the stairs are icy, so hold onto the rail

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in road
a roadway overlaid with parallel steel rails over which trains travel an abandoned stretch of rail that was overgrown with brush

Synonyms & Similar Words

rail

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the verb rail differ from other similar words?

Some common synonyms of rail are berate, revile, scold, upbraid, and vituperate. While all these words mean "to reproach angrily and abusively," rail (at or against) stresses an unrestrained berating.

railed loudly at their insolence

When could berate be used to replace rail?

In some situations, the words berate and rail are roughly equivalent. However, berate suggests prolonged and often abusive scolding.

berated continually by an overbearing boss

When is it sensible to use revile instead of rail?

While the synonyms revile and rail are close in meaning, revile implies a scurrilous, abusive attack prompted by anger or hatred.

an alleged killer reviled in the press

When is scold a more appropriate choice than rail?

The words scold and rail can be used in similar contexts, but scold implies rebuking in irritation or ill temper justly or unjustly.

angrily scolding the children

When would upbraid be a good substitute for rail?

The words upbraid and rail are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, upbraid implies censuring on definite and usually justifiable grounds.

upbraided her assistants for poor research

In what contexts can vituperate take the place of rail?

The synonyms vituperate and rail are sometimes interchangeable, but vituperate suggests a violent reviling.

was vituperated for betraying his friends

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of rail
Noun
And there’s plenty of bad out there — including a news story about a faulty railing giving way and causing a woman’s death. Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 22 Aug. 2025 Independent redistricting advocates have railed against politically skewed voting districts designed to benefit one political party, describing such gerrymandering as a way to distort election outcomes by letting politicians choose their voters instead of the other way around. Clara Hendrickson, Freep.com, 21 Aug. 2025
Verb
Officers recovered a folding knife near the outbound light rail platform, the affidavit said. Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2025 Exterior upgrades include a more aggressive look with adaptive dampers, 22-inch wheels and black-and-chrome exterior accents, including black roof rails. James Raia, Mercury News, 19 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for rail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rail
Noun
  • The daughter lost her balance and fell backwards off the railing into the ocean.
    Sarah Rumpf-Whitten , Adriana James-Rodil, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2025
  • Take them outdoors, hang them over a railing, and whack them with a broom handle or similar tool.
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 19 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • For the filmmakers working in the region over the past two years, it’s been a long, arduous road to reach audiences, as the war impacted their physical productions and made potential distributors wary of facing political backlash for releasing their films.
    Rebecca Keegan, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Gripen fighters have the reputation of being relatively cheap and easy to maintain and arm, and able to operate in austere conditions – using roads or even dirt roads for runways.
    Brad Lendon, CNN Money, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Cheung played a tape of Nicholson ranting and raving at the Kaiser facility in Irvine.
    City News Service, Oc Register, 22 Oct. 2025
  • She is outwardly spoken against transgender rights and has ranted several times about Representative Sarah McBride, an openly transgender member of Congress, and her pronouns.
    Mandy Taheri, MSNBC Newsweek, 17 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • On Wednesday, the jury charged Brown with violence against a railroad carrier and mass transportation system resulting in death, which is a capital offense under federal law.
    Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Much of the Nickel Plate Trail follows the path of the former railroad for which it's named.
    Jordan Smith, IndyStar, 22 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Predictably, Khomeini fulminated about Carter’s visit.
    Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 4 Aug. 2025
  • As for fighting the Trump pressure campaign, even politicians as ambitious as Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker are mostly left to file lawsuits — and fulminate.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 5 May 2025
Noun
  • Difficult path to building urban railways However, other types of obstacles presented themselves.
    Michael Wells, Kansas City Star, 22 Oct. 2025
  • Eyewitnesses reported seeing one of the railway’s two cars derailing and careening down the street before hitting a building.
    Angélica Franganillo Díaz, CNN Money, 21 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Stone and Lanthimos have since worked together several times, and their collaboration, a mutual-favoritism society, has been hailed and sometimes reviled for its darkly exuberant sense of risk.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2025
  • Can someone in demand really be that widely reviled?
    Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Rail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rail. Accessed 29 Oct. 2025.

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