as in to scold
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
the drill sergeant tongue-lashed the recruits with a colorful litany of foulmouthed invectives
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Recent Examples of tongue-lash
Spencer died Sunday at his home in Palm Desert, according to his daughter, Karen.
Spencer once dreamed of coaching big-time college football and his blunt, salty style could have served him well barking orders from the sideline or delivering a tongue-lashing locker-room speech.
—
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025
Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for tongue-lash
Verb
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Leon scolded Justice Department attorneys for arguing that the entire project needed to go forward for national security reasons, before previously distinguishing between the bunker below ground and the ballroom above ground.—
Ted Johnson,
Deadline,
16 Apr. 2026
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Government officials scolded young people for the signs of disrespect.—
Justin Spike,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Apr. 2026
Verb
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One cheeky Instagram Reel sees the two sitting across from each other at a table as Bradford pretended to lecture Brunette.—
Zoey Lyttle,
PEOPLE,
20 Apr. 2026
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Should the guy who spends his spare time dodging bullets really be lecturing him on death wishes?—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
17 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Additionally, Cox reprimanded CalPERS in the decision, writing that staff members acted unprofessionally throughout the hearing and failed to provide evidence supporting CalPERS’ claims.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
14 Apr. 2026
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House members are able to act individually to bypass leadership and force action on privileged resolutions to reprimand each other, such as censure and expulsion.—
Emily Brooks,
The Hill,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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In response to industry commentators blaming aggressive patent litigation for companies disabling HEVC support, Nokia’s rep said that third-party streaming services and hardware wouldn’t work as expected without Nokia’s research and development.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
20 Apr. 2026
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Who one blames depends on their politics.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Wolves coach Chris Finch criticized his team’s lack of composure.—
Bennett Durando,
Denver Post,
19 Apr. 2026
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One of the easier things to do is criticize without offering solutions.—
Letters to the Editor,
The Orlando Sentinel,
19 Apr. 2026
Verb
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At another point, NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman called down to Earth to NASA’s IT specialists on the ground to report that both versions of Microsoft’s email program Outlook installed on his computer were not working.—
Noah Haggerty,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Apr. 2026
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Ming opened up her fourth floor window and called down to the firefighters below.—
Kate Talerico,
San Francisco Chronicle,
19 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Tongue-lash.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/tongue-lash. Accessed 23 Apr. 2026.
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