RAILING (AT OR AGAINST) Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words

railing (at or against)

verb

present participle of rail (at or against)

as in scolding

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 railing (at or against)

Verb

Rather than scolding parents about screens, society could do more to support families in ways that obviate the need for screen time.

— Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026
Do not punish your dog by scolding or yelling at them, as this may make your dog's behavior worse out of fear or stress.

— Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 28 July 2026

Definition of scolding

Verb

Today, young people are increasingly frustrated with the hypocrisy of politicians lecturing them about the virtues of voting while in practice facilitating disengagement.

— David Neil, New York Daily News, 15 Aug. 2026
Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations Danny Danon criticized Spain for lecturing Israel on security while struggling to control its own border.

— Efrat Lachter, FOXNews.com, 31 July 2026

Definition of lecturing

Verb

Like Bezos, whose Sun Valley uniform has included jeans with T-shirts and polo shirts, many of the male tech executives are dressing down.

— Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 10 July 2026
Hardline politicians slammed the president’s unorthodox choice of attire and activists accused him of double standards, where under Iran’s strict dress codes, ordinary people would be barred from dressing down.

— Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 12 June 2026

Definition of dressing down

Verb

Mamdani’s office posted an 88-second video criticizing Amazon’s use of the subcontractor model.

— Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 13 Aug. 2026
The city’s Environment and Utilities Commission declined to recommend approval, criticizing officials for insufficient public outreach.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 13 Aug. 2026

Definition of criticizing

Verb

People shooting them too far forward and then blaming the cartridge, maybe.

— Alex Robinson, Outdoor Life, 20 Aug. 2026
But blaming the technology risks obscuring the fact that humans write the code, select the data on which AI systems are trained, approve their use, and decide where and how they are deployed.

— Shaun Harper, AJC.com, 18 Aug. 2026

Definition of blaming

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

railing (against)

railing (at or against)

railings

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Railing (at or against).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/railing%20%28at%20or%20against%29. Accessed 22 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of railing (at or against)

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

august

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

How to Pronounce the Trickiest Menu Items

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Popular in Wordplay

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Aug. 21

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

Games & Quizzes