tell off

verb

Definition of tell offnext
as in to rail (at or against)

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of tell off Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha praised comedian Jerry Seinfeld for telling off an anti-Israel influencer after a New York Knicks game Wednesday. — Britta Miller, The Washington Examiner, 12 June 2026 When Hunt didn’t seem to flinch at the thought, Steadman recalled, Steadman told off the insistent Dixon. — Kansas City Star, 26 Nov. 2025 In a viral TikTok video, a golden retriever gets told off for being annoying—his reaction to being scolded melts hearts across social-media users. — Maria Azzurra Volpe, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Sep. 2025 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 See All Example Sentences for tell off
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tell off
  1. cut up
  2. bawl out
  3. chew out
  4. rag
  5. punish
  6. scold
  7. jaw
  8. lecture
Verb
  • Californios’ reign began to vanish even before the discovery of gold, when droughts and floods wiped out their easygoing livelihoods, and their lands were cut up, sold off, and their land grants swept aside by the new state.
    — Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • The board's original proposal called for cutting up to 18 English learner teachers across the district.
    — Beret Leone, CBS News, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of cut up
Verb
  • Trippier and Burn are organisers and not afraid to bawl out their team-mates.
    — George Caulkin, New York Times, 24 Feb. 2026
  • Women stopped to bawl out the police, who accepted this dressing-down with quiet embarrassment.
    — National Geographic, National Geographic, 11 Aug. 2020
Definition of bawl out
Verb
  • Kittens chew to relieve teething discomfort, while adult cats may chew out of boredom, stress or habit.
    — Ryan Brennan, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
  • It was widely reported that team president Masai Ujiri went into Casey’s office after Game 3 to chew out the coach for not preparing his team better to defend James’ memorable game-winner over OG Anunoby, who is now a Knick.
    — Eric Koreen, New York Times, 27 May 2026
Definition of chew out
Verb
  • With visceral immediacy, O’Farrell channels the terror of arriving in a strange land, ragged and famished, without family, friends, or funds.
    — Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 2 June 2026
  • Seven years ago, Lyon ran Barcelona ragged in their first women’s Champions League final, consigning them to a 4-1 defeat.
    — Megan Feringa, New York Times, 23 May 2026
Definition of rag
Verb
  • With the game fully in hand, junior center Clara Silva asserted herself in the second half with six straight points to extend TCU’s lead to 68-18 as the Horned Frogs leaned on Silva’s size to punish the Lions’ front court off the pick and roll.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 13 Nov. 2026
  • Moreover, when the wrong people are punished, the real criminals go free.
    — Arne Duncan, Chicago Tribune, 13 Nov. 2026
Definition of punish
Verb
  • Huang is known to be a difficult and exacting boss with a track record of publicly scolding staff.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 11 Nov. 2026
  • In 2025, Foxx scolded a patron for flinging an object onstage during rapper GloRilla’s performance at a previous SKVLK Fest.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 9 Nov. 2026
Definition of scold
Verb
  • And James did so even while jawing with courtside Knicks fans about using a helicopter to commute from his new home in New York to Philadelphia.
    — Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Towns intervened as Brady was escorted away from Paul, who continued jawing at the future Hall of Fame quarterback.
    — Saad Yousuf, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of jaw
Verb
  • And what's tricky about this is Direct Instruction, the version invented by Zig, is the opposite of lecturing.
    — Belinda Luscombe, Time, 5 Nov. 2026
  • This is how a senior diplomat can lecture British bureaucrats about North Korea’s victimhood one day and then flee North Korea with his entire family a few weeks later.
    — Jieun Baek, Foreign Affairs, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of lecture

Browse Nearby Words

tell (of)
tell off
tell (on)
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Cite this Entry

“Tell off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tell%20off. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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