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
-
Officials want Indianapolis parents to take responsibility for their children Speaking at a news conference over the weekend, Bailey scolded parents for allowing their children out at night unsupervised.—
Matthew Cupelli,
IndyStar,
7 July 2025 -
Trump has publicly scolded Massie for his opposition.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
1 July 2025
Verb
-
Amy Lieberman, a politics and society editor at The Conversation U.S., spoke with Lincoln Mitchell, a political strategy and campaign specialist who lectures at Columbia University, to understand what Mamdani’s primary win might indicate about the direction of national politics.—
Lincoln Mitchell,
The Conversation,
27 June 2025
-
DuVernay presents the inhumanity of the situation without lecturing the audience or patronizing the subjects, instead providing an honest portrait of the fear, hope, and lost time that the Central Park Five experienced as the result of a profoundly broken justice system.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
26 June 2025
Verb
-
Dan Baltic, a co-founder in New Ritual Press and one of tonight’s readers, remembers being reprimanded in 2019 in a writing workshop by a woman who was appalled by the alt-right protagonist of his debut novel, Nutcrankr.—
John McDermott,
Rolling Stone,
6 July 2025
-
Though city reprimanded the protesters, the group dissolved shortly after.—
Calista Oetama
July 3,
Sacbee.com,
3 July 2025
Verb
-
Miles, the Manual student, noted how when she and her fellow bus riders were called down to the office to receive information on the return of transportation, almost all of them were Black.—
Grace Fridy,
The Courier-Journal,
2 July 2025
-
Upper apartments, though, were built without kitchens, since their owners might as well call down for room service.—
Adriane Quinlan,
Curbed,
19 May 2025
Verb
-
Whether paired with a blouse for a day in the office or dressed down with a T-shirt for more casual occasions, skinny pants are a smart staple to have on hand.—
Averi Baudler,
People.com,
5 July 2025
-
The judge dressed down another defendant and two lawyers.—
Patricia Gallagher Newberry,
The Enquirer,
2 July 2025
Verb
-
Instances when the coach chewed out the quarterback for being late on a throw.—
Brad Biggs,
Chicago Tribune,
8 June 2025
-
But to chew out his boss--Edwin Stanton, secretary of war--would be more than just getting close to the line of insubordination.—
arkansasonline.com,
arkansasonline.com,
12 Feb. 2025
Verb
-
Chemical residue can be a primary cause of stiff towels and products like fabric softener can often be to blame.—
Patricia Shannon,
Southern Living,
6 July 2025
-
Was the project doomed by the economic realities of globalization, the competitive landscape in the smartphone business, or were Google’s shifting corporate priorities ultimately to blame?—
Verne Kopytoff,
Fortune,
5 July 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 14 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share