as in reprimands
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
he scolded the kids for not cleaning up the mess they had made in the kitchen
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Recent Examples of scolds
Judith Martin, Mercury News, 16 June 2026
Inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Cundieff makes quick work of lambasting the casual misogyny and homophobia ingrained in hardcore rap, but also of the media scolds unable to parse the message of the music.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
Stumbling on to this ruse, Antoine’s friend and manager Armand (Gilles Lellouche) immediately can tell Suzanne is a fake and scolds her for exploiting his friend’s grief.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 12 May 2026
Or tie scolds to the ducking stool again.
—Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
McMahon likes to remind scolds that wrestling is a morality play.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 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
On our hike, Jessie Krebs scolds her boots for sliding on a slick, house-size boulder.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2026
While some online scolds didn’t like Johnson’s profanity, this has played well in Chicago, a city that has been ravenous for a winning Bears team since the 20th Super Bowl.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Verb
Someone else scolds the offender.
—Judith Martin, Mercury News, 16 June 2026
Inspired by This Is Spinal Tap, Cundieff makes quick work of lambasting the casual misogyny and homophobia ingrained in hardcore rap, but also of the media scolds unable to parse the message of the music.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 3 June 2026
Stumbling on to this ruse, Antoine’s friend and manager Armand (Gilles Lellouche) immediately can tell Suzanne is a fake and scolds her for exploiting his friend’s grief.
—Pete Hammond, Deadline, 12 May 2026
Or tie scolds to the ducking stool again.
—Annie Lowrey, The Atlantic, 28 Apr. 2026
McMahon likes to remind scolds that wrestling is a morality play.
—Zach Helfand, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 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
On our hike, Jessie Krebs scolds her boots for sliding on a slick, house-size boulder.
—Andrew McKean, Outdoor Life, 19 Mar. 2026
While some online scolds didn’t like Johnson’s profanity, this has played well in Chicago, a city that has been ravenous for a winning Bears team since the 20th Super Bowl.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 14 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scolds
Verb
-
His supervisor appears as a ticket conductor and reprimands him for doing nothing.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Alas, nitpickers can point to some moves in which Atlanta went backward.—
John Hollinger,
New York Times,
1 May 2026
-
Maybe that’s why, compared with some other kinds of nitpickers, pop critics can seem especially extraneous.—
Kelefa Sanneh,
New Yorker,
25 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Today’s successful downtowns rely on a mix of ingredients, said Steven Falk, the former city manager of Lafayette, who’s served as an interim city executive in Oakland and Richmond and who lectures at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy.—
Martha Ross,
Mercury News,
2 June 2026
-
Bad teams are given mechanisms to recover, not lectures about bootstraps.—
Eddie Brown,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Saturday’s result in Kansas City — along with Cape Verde’s scoreless tie against Spain — may silence critics.—
Blair Kerkhoff,
Kansas City Star,
21 June 2026
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Another early closer – this specialty production, in which a rotating cast of celebrities read the (supposedly) unintentionally funny memoirs of other celebrities, was planned for a summer-long run, but audience lack of interest and critics’ lack of luster reviews put the kibosh on that.—
Greg Evans,
Deadline,
20 June 2026
Verb
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How can people with such a strong attachment to faith and family vote for someone who criticizes religious leaders and defies so many ethical standards?—
Scott Warren,
The Atlantic,
13 June 2026
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Read's suit criticizes police for not searching the home where O'Keefe was found for blood, fingerprints or DNA evidence.—
Nadine El-Bawab,
ABC News,
4 June 2026
Verb
-
This lawsuit, like numerous other similar cases that have come before it, alleges a design defect with ChatGPT itself and blames OpenAI for knowingly deploying a dangerous product.—
Cyrus Farivar,
ArsTechnica,
12 June 2026
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But none of that mattered to a Knicks fan base that now blames him for ending a 13-game winning streak.—
Rob Crilly,
The Washington Examiner,
12 June 2026
Verb
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Judge admonishes Musk over social media use Musk is seeking $150 billion in damages from OpenAI and Microsoft, one of its largest investors, with proceeds going to OpenAI’s charitable arm.—
Deepa Seetharaman,
USA Today,
29 Apr. 2026
-
Deeply religious, Jean’s mother, in the film, admonishes her.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
And Vance berates Democrats in a visit to Minneapolis.—
Kayla Hayempour,
NBC news,
23 Jan. 2026
-
Cast members performed on The Tonight Show and in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade and made a surprise appearance on Saturday Night Live, in a sketch in which host Bad Bunny berates his friends for failing to grasp the movie’s brilliance.—
Eliza Berman,
Time,
9 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scolds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scolds. Accessed 23 Jun. 2026.
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