railed (at or against)

verb

past tense of rail (at or against)
as in scolded
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for railed (at or against)
  1. scolded
  2. lectured
  3. reprimanded
  4. called down
  5. dressed down
  6. criticized
  7. chewed out
Verb
  • Mills was grabbed and scolded by defensive coordinator Aden Durde for his obvious no-no.
    — PJ Green, Kansas City Star, 13 Aug. 2026
  • The curious boys climbed onto the roof of their home for a better look, but climbed back down when scolded by their grandmother.
    — Rina Nakano, CBS News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of scolded
Verb
  • We’re also lectured early on that Cole is a chess master, but his alleged intelligence never pays off.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
  • None of that made it into the discussion before Wilder lectured the girls about how to think.
    — Dan Zaksheske OutKick, FOXNews.com, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of lectured
Verb
  • The lawsuit says the officer was reprimanded and removed from further field training of Wadell.
    — Ben Wheeler, Kansas City Star, 21 Aug. 2026
  • Spencer Pratt, the former Republican candidate for mayor of Los Angeles, also reprimanded Khanna for pushing the statewide wealth tax while enriching himself.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of reprimanded
Verb
  • After leaving the field at the end of the third, Fried walked into the tunnel leading to the visitors’ clubhouse, flanked by pitching coach Matt Blake, who immediately called down to the bullpen to have Paul Blackburn warm up.
    — Chris Kirschner, New York Times, 13 May 2026
  • Even the New York State Police had been called down to join, and were standing around in their purple ties and Dudley Do-Right hats.
    — Erin Vanderhoof, Vanity Fair, 29 Apr. 2026
Definition of called down
Verb
  • This Calvin Klein bowling bag looks sophisticated and modern, but as Gregory explained, it could easily be dressed down with jeans and a tee.
    — Anna Traver, InStyle, 20 Aug. 2026
  • This versatile set can be dressed up with heels or dressed down with sneakers.
    — Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of dressed down
Verb
  • He has also been criticized for his commentary about women in tennis.
    — James Hansen, New York Times, 19 Aug. 2026
  • The ceremonial head of Cambridge on Sunday defended the university’s decision and criticized media coverage of Arday.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of criticized
Verb
  • Being chewed out was nothing new, part of life as a football player.
    — Nick Kosmider, New York Times, 8 Oct. 2025
  • About eight or nine hours into a punishing shoot, nerves were fraying, and Mike McGuirk was getting chewed out by a camera operator.
    — Katie Kilkenny, HollywoodReporter, 4 Sep. 2025
Definition of chewed out
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.

Browse Nearby Words

railed (against)
railed (at or against)
railer
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Cite this Entry

“Railed (at or against).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/railed%20%28at%20or%20against%29. Accessed 24 Aug. 2026.

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