as in to rail (at or against)
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Recent Examples of tell off
Lombardi had voiced her concerns about the impact of the Blue Angels flying over Seattle in 2023, telling off the squadron in an expletive-laden tirade.
—
Janhvi Bhojwani, NBC news, 24 July 2025
Season three will include toxic men (pretends to be shocked!), Marciano’s story being questioned (clutching my pearls!), and Taylor telling off her mom (wait, actually, yes, please).
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Rivera’s sharp sense of style, hanging out and making plans, eating sticky rice and ketchup, telling off old boyfriends and listening to music.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
Moo's hilarious response to being told off is a textbook example of this temperament.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Maybe Simón was a malcontent who told off manager Clayton McCullough.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Stephen King made a surprise return to X on Feb. 20 to tell off President Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of which owns the social media platform.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025
Deliverance is a game about being told off for sleeping in other people's beds.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
Janhvi Bhojwani, NBC news, 24 July 2025
Season three will include toxic men (pretends to be shocked!), Marciano’s story being questioned (clutching my pearls!), and Taylor telling off her mom (wait, actually, yes, please).
—Olivia Crandall, Vulture, 1 July 2025
Rivera’s sharp sense of style, hanging out and making plans, eating sticky rice and ketchup, telling off old boyfriends and listening to music.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 25 June 2025
Moo's hilarious response to being told off is a textbook example of this temperament.
—Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 June 2025
Maybe Simón was a malcontent who told off manager Clayton McCullough.
—Dan Freedman, Forbes.com, 4 June 2025
Stephen King made a surprise return to X on Feb. 20 to tell off President Trump and Elon Musk, the latter of which owns the social media platform.
—Zack Sharf, Variety, 21 Feb. 2025
Deliverance is a game about being told off for sleeping in other people's beds.
—David Faris, Newsweek, 3 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tell off
Verb
-
The boat therefore needed metal or plastic cages installed around the engines, so that the diver wouldn’t get accidentally cut up by their blades — and finding a boat and then the right cages fit onto the boat would take time.—
Samanth Subramanian,
The Dial,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Techniques like this have been around for some time, but Micro-C uses an enzyme that can cut up DNA more finely than before.—
Quanta Magazine,
Quanta Magazine,
8 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Women stopped to bawl out the police, who accepted this dressing-down with quiet embarrassment.—
National Geographic,
National Geographic,
11 Aug. 2020
Verb
-
Being chewed out was nothing new, part of life as a football player.—
Nick Kosmider,
New York Times,
8 Oct. 2025
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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
Verb
-
The players had looked ragged, insecure and vulnerable tactically.—
Jacob Tanswell,
New York Times,
25 Aug. 2025
-
The incline left my legs burning and my breath ragged, and my pace slowed despite my best efforts.—
Sam Stone,
Bon Appetit Magazine,
12 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
These timeless styles look polished, but can easily be dressed down with a tee and sneakers.—
Kristy Alpert,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Oct. 2025
-
With its refined silhouette, subtle logo detailing, and classic colors—from black to a fall-ready burgundy—the elegant accessory can be dressed down for coffee runs and classed up for date nights.—
Mariana Best,
Better Homes & Gardens,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Baird believes that shares of Zions Bancorp have been unduly punished.—
Lisa Kailai Han,
CNBC,
17 Oct. 2025
-
The superpowers imposed punishing tariffs on one another earlier this year, only to lower them, and had for months been discussing a trade deal.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Royal Dutch Medical Association scolded the psychiatrists, and prosecutors declined to act.—
Asra Q. Nomani,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
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Like an impatient parent scolding their toddler, Frankenstein grows frustrated with his monster’s limited capacity for speech.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
And Travis Kelce and Reid were jawing at each other again.—
The Athletic Staff,
New York Times,
22 Sep. 2025
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Horn has never been shy about jawing at his offensive teammates in practice.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Tell off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tell%20off. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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