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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for railing (at or against)
Verb
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Miss Sammie flashed the scolding look Jean had known since childhood, though playfully now.—
David Wright Faladé,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025 -
Shipp is tasked with scolding her father and delivering leaden exposition.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Since exiting Dries Van Noten a few years ago, Scallon has been working as an independent consultant and mentor in fashion communications strategy, also lecturing occasionally and sharing his views about creative content on podcasts.—
Miles Socha,
Footwear News,
25 Sep. 2025
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The same woman Don had been lecturing about beer.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
19 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The timeless look is versatile enough for dressing down with a pair of jeans and a sweater or elevating with a maxi dress and some gold jewelry.—
Nneya Richards,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Oct. 2025
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For the first stretch of Erupcja, Charli almost dissolves into the screen, not like an outsize personality who’s dressing down for a part, but like someone who isn’t able to repurpose her considerable ability to hold our attention — or to give us any sense of what’s on her character’s mind.—
Alison Willmore,
Vulture,
5 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Cast members immediately reacted to Caroline’s misgendering, with some reprimanding her, while others covered their faces in embarrassment.—
Mathew Rodriguez,
Them.,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Its press releases criticizing the latest risqué scenes on broadcast and basic cable TV routinely generated media headlines — as did its deep-dive studies showing an increase of more adult content.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
9 Oct. 2025
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Ciattarelli initially praised Sherrill voting yes on a resolution celebrating the life of Charlie Kirk, and accused Sherrill of flip-flopping on her values, criticizing her for condemning some of Kirk’s rhetoric.—
Brittany Shepherd,
ABC News,
9 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Politicians on both sides of the aisle are blaming each other for the shutdown and ensuing travel snafus.—
Joel Rose,
NPR,
7 Oct. 2025
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Another pitfall is skipping aftercare instructions and then blaming biology.—
Maria Williams,
USA Today,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The episode ends with Kyle’s mom chewing out Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for his actions in the ongoing war.—
Tiney Ricciardi,
Denver Post,
25 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Railing (at or against).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/railing%20%28at%20or%20against%29. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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