as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
we could hear the cook in the kitchen railing against his assistant and wondered if we'd ever get our food
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for rail (at or against)
Verb
-
But the stunt goes south as Wooley turns out to be an unabashed bigot who embarrasses the show and gets scolded by the host.—
Erik Pedersen,
Deadline,
31 Mar. 2026 -
This cross-partisan skit is refreshing and the only people who might hate it are Cuomo supporters and maybe some woke scolds.—
Andrew Stanton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
With me, my wife lectures me more than my children.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
4 Apr. 2026
-
The van’s speakers played a high-volume mashup of construction sounds, Jordan Peterson lectures, Marine Corps drills, and mumbling voices.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
The release comes nearly two months after the officers involved were reprimanded for lying about the encounter.—
Anthony Bettin,
CBS News,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Hart was reprimanding Ross for doing what is the most offensive thing a comedian can do — suck up to the most important person in the room — and enforcing an old ethic in comedy, which is not apologizing for your jokes.—
Robert Lynch,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
At another point, NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman called down to Earth to NASA’s IT specialists on the ground to report that both versions of Microsoft’s email program Outlook installed on his computer were not working.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Apr. 2026
-
Ming opened up her fourth floor window and called down to the firefighters below.—
Kate Talerico,
San Francisco Chronicle,
19 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Trippier and Burn are organisers and not afraid to bawl out their team-mates.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
24 Feb. 2026
-
Women stopped to bawl out the police, who accepted this dressing-down with quiet embarrassment.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
11 Aug. 2020
Verb
-
Meanwhile, the oil industry blames California's progressive policies for driving them out.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
7 Apr. 2026
-
Others blame social media for hindering crew members from socializing—and carousing—together.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Instead of the standard chewing out, the senior played a clip of his freshman defensive back counterpart recognizing a screen, shedding a block and securing the first solo tackle of his career against No. 5 Georgia last week.—
Noah White,
Miami Herald,
10 Nov. 2025
-
Being chewed out was nothing new, part of life as a football player.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
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.
Cite this Entry
“Rail (at or against).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/rail%20%28at%20or%20against%29. Accessed 7 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
