telling off

verb

present participle of tell off
as in cutting up

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for telling off
  1. cutting up
  2. dressing down
  3. chewing out
Verb
  • Using unseen footage from Presley’s 1969 to 1976 Las Vegas residency, the movie plays the hits – plus The Beatles and Simon & Garfunkel – but also showcases his sense of humor, quipping with crowds and cutting up with bandmates.
    — Brian Truitt, USA Today, 12 June 2026
  • Always cutting up and making memories.
    — Hedy Phillips, PEOPLE, 8 June 2026
Definition of cutting up
Verb
  • Like Bezos, whose Sun Valley uniform has included jeans with T-shirts and polo shirts, many of the male tech executives are dressing down.
    — Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 10 July 2026
  • Hardline politicians slammed the president’s unorthodox choice of attire and activists accused him of double standards, where under Iran’s strict dress codes, ordinary people would be barred from dressing down.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 12 June 2026
Definition of dressing down
Verb
  • 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
Definition of chewing out
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.

Browse Nearby Words

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

“Telling off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/telling%20off. Accessed 25 Jul. 2026.

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