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
Bethy Squires, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Noun
Woke scolds and anti-woke dolts alike objected to the image of Carpenter kneeling in front of a man who appears to be using her hair as a leash.
—Bethy Squires, Vulture, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scolds
Verb
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Yeanoplos lectures throughout the United States on the topics of valuation, applied finance and financial analysis, has been a faculty member for the AICPA’s National Business Valuation School for close to 25 years and is currently on the faculty of the ABA Family Law Trial Advocacy Institute.—
BySteel Rose,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
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Jon Michaels, a professor of law at UCLA who lectures about national security, said that the documents found in the printer of the Alaskan hotel reveal a lapse in professional judgement in preparation for a high-stakes meeting.—
Chiara Eisner,
NPR,
16 Aug. 2025
Verb
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If your boss criticizes your work, do not argue or retreat.—
Benjamin Laker,
Forbes.com,
25 Aug. 2025
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What the president is trying to do here is very systemic and systematic, and that is, anyone who stands up to the president, anyone who criticizes the president, anyone who says anything adverse to the president's interests gets the full weight of the federal government brought down on them.—
NBC news,
NBC news,
24 Aug. 2025
Verb
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As Tetyana weeps, the soldier gently admonishes her fuss.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
11 Aug. 2025
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When Souleymane rehearses his account, in an early scene, Barry admonishes him for blandly reciting (and often bungling) the false facts he’s been given.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
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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
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Delta blames a global IT outage last summer for its performance problems.—
Christopher Elliott,
Forbes.com,
14 Sep. 2025
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The man who unleashed a mob on the Capitol, and said Liz Cheney should face nine barrels shooting at her for supporting his opponent, blames the radical left for their rhetoric.—
Zack Sharf,
Variety,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In another clip, his mother berates Pormanove over the phone for letting the co-streamers shave off parts of his hair.—
Philippe Cordier,
CNN Money,
20 Aug. 2025
Noun
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Left-wing critics—including members of his own party—have resisted his attempts to cut welfare spending, and argue that Britain hasn’t sufficiently criticized Israel’s war in Gaza.—
Helen Lewis,
The Atlantic,
13 Sep. 2025
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Each section offers a spoiler-free plot summary along with a trailer, some context on its stars and creators, and a look at why critics were so impressed.—
Travis Bean,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As Dexter questions why Batista’s death hurts so much, Brian chastises his brother for listening to Harry too much.—
Nick Caruso,
TVLine,
5 Sep. 2025
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Red Jacob chastises Colum for not healing quickly enough.—
Lincee Ray Published,
EW.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Scolds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scolds. Accessed 18 Sep. 2025.
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